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2ID- I'.A.I^-ISii C£iXJK,0£i, I^OR-TJL.^f^3SriD- 



OUR PASTOR; 



REMINISCENCES 



REY. EDWARD PAYSOR, D. D. 



PASTOR OF THE SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 



IN PORTLAND, ME, 



Si) oi]e of l]i3 rioclf. 




And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the Arma- 
ment ; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever 
and ever. Dan. xii. 3. 



BOSTON 8 ^ -^ 

TAPPAN & WHITTEMORE. 

PORTLAND : 

SANBORN & CAIiTER. 

BLAKE & CARTER. 
1855. ,., 






Entered according to an Act of Congress, A. D. 1855, 

by ISAAC WESTON, 

In the Clerk's office of the District Court of Maine. 



DEDICATION. 



TO THE 
AND TO THE 

SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AND SOCIETY IN PORTLAND, 

NOW UNDER HIS CARE, AND ESPECIALLY 

TO THE SURVIVING MEMBERS OF DR. PAYSON's CHURCH, 

WHEREVER SCATTERED ABROAD 

STJis ITolumc IS affectionately insctibetr, 

BY THE COMPILER. 



P E E F A C E. 



In presenting to the public the following pages, there is no at- 
tempt made to supersede the most excellent " Memoir of Payson,^* 
by Rev. Dr. CamDiings, published some twenty-five years since. 

Our object has been to collect facts and incidents in his life, 
l)ut fev/ of which have been before pablished, and from the per- 
sonal observation, vvhicli a long and intimate acquaintance afford- 
ed us, to give sketches of his character as a man of God, a Pas- 
tor, and Preacher, whereby his character in these respects^ shall 
|je more fully illustrated. 

It was judged, also, that iliQ example of eminent piety and de- 
votedness to his work, presented in the life of Dr. Payson, might 
fee brought afresh to the notice of the Christian Church, by the 
publication of these reminiscences — might waken anew thezealp 
and encourage the hearts of ministers and private christians. 

In the Memoir referred to, ably ezecuted as it is, we have the 
portrait of Dr. Payson' s mind and experience, in the drawing of 
which, his own hand is more specially employed- Much of it is a 
picture of himself^ as viewed by himself, and therefore aiTords only 
a partial and consequently an imperfect delineation of his charac- 
ifcer. The opinions which his people entertained of him, as a be- 



Vili PREJACE. 

loved Pastor, and as one extraordinarily endowed, both by nattrre' 
and grace, seemed a desideratum, which this volume is intended 
to supply. 

From several clergymen and laymenywho once sat under his 
ministry, kind testimonials have been received, respecting Dr^ 
Payson's character, and in favor of our work. These letters have 
been inserted in the following pages^ over the initials of the au- 
thors' names. 

It is but justice for the compiler to remark^that i^ prosecuting^ 
his work, the pecuUarity of its style, rendered unavoidable the 
more frequent introduction of the first per307i^ than his modesty 
would otherwise have allowed. 



CONTENTS 



Introduction. 5 

CHAPTER L 

Portland in 1803 — Mr. Payson's introduction there in the 
same year — Anecdotes of Mr. Pay son — His Fourth of July 
oration. 9 

CHAPTER II. 

His first coming' to Portland as a preacher, and the moral 
condition of his field of labor — The Pay son fever, so called 

— Anecdote of Mr. N, C. — Evangelical religion revived 

— Mr. Payson's ordination — Kev. Mr. Keliosrg's dismis- 
sion — Some remarks on the occurrence, and upon Mr. K.'s 
character. 16 

CHAPTER HI. 

The sources of Dr. Payson's popularity considered — The 
character of his preaching — His appearance in the pulpit 

— Anecdote of the Indians — The high estimation in which 
he was held by his people — Invariably the same with stran- 
gers — Opposition awakened by his preaching — An an- 
ecdote — The effect which his preaching produced upon the 
minds of his audience did not leave them when they retired 
from the sanctuary. 33 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

His prayers — Plis views of the importance of prayer — 
The effect of his prayers upon himself, and upon the con- 
gregation — His prayer at the funeral of the commanders 
of the Enterprize and Boxer — His confessions of sin and 
unvv'ortbiness — Not the effect of nervousness or insanity. 43 



CHAPTER V. 

His manner of reading the psalm or hymn — The effect pro- 
duced upon his hearers, described — General remarks upon 
the importance of this part of divine service, as a means of 
grace — Description of a scene in Rev. Dr. Spencer's con- 
ference room, by way of illastration. 56 

CHAPTER VI. 

His effectiveness as a preacher. 63 

His respect for the ministerial office — His respect for his 

people — His self-respect — Reference to contemporary 

preachers. (See the following chapter.) 



CHAPTEP. VII. 

Dr, Payson's mental powers described — Literary habits — 
His popularity as a preacher sometimes disputed — De- 
fense — The cordial reception he met with daring his 
journeys — The opinions of judicious men with regard to 
ills talents — In what his intellectual pre-eminence consist- 
ed — The extraordinary influence accompanying his relig- 
ious performances. 71 

CHAPTER VIII. 

His sermons considered comparatively — Notice of Rev. ^Ir. 
Jenkins — Anecdote of two sailors — Scottish Iiousewife 
*-- The superior excellence of Dr. Paj^son's published ser- 
mons called in question by some — "His Thoughts" re- 
viewed — The " Pastor's Daughter." DO 



CONTENTS. XI 

CHAPTER IX. 

His sensitiveness v/ith regard to the success of his labors - — 
His acute mental sufferings — Advantages of spiritual trials 
considered — Dr. Payson not of all men most miserable — 
The peculiarity of his piety described and defended. 104 



CBAPTER X. 

His weekly meetings for Inquirers — Church Fasts — Con- 
ference and prayer meetings — Incidents communicated by 
a correspondent — Communion seasons. 132 

CHAPTER XI. 

Other special qualifications of Dr. Payson, as a pastor — His 
eminence as a spiritual anatomist — His tenderness towards 
the weak of his flock — An instance in point — Yet very 
faithful in giving rebuke when needed — Examples — His 
freedom from eccentricity — his hatred to it when seen in 
others — Anecdote. 144 

CHAPTER XII. 

His conversational powers — His prolific mental resources — 
Dr. Cheever's remarks — He sought no monopoly in the 
social circle — The strong attachment of his people not 
lessened by time nor circumstances. 151 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Would Dr. Payson have sustained his eminence in the minis- 
try had he been continued to the present day ? — Was his 
influence not only salutary but enduring ? — Would he have 
been a suitable minister for the times ? — He was remarka- 
bly free from any signs of mental imbecility — His influence 
powerful and salutary among his people daring his life — 
And afterwards, as appears from the general religious char- 
acter of those who survive him — [Je had a living, praying 
church — His church early brought into the harness. 161 



Xii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The faculty of attention and observation remarkably devel- 
oped in Dr. P. — Remarks on the great advantages to a 
minister of possessing a habit of observation and a knowl- 
edge of common things — llu st rated by the examples of 
Bunyan, Newton and Scott. • 185 



CHAPTER XV. 

The compiler's visit to Rindge, N. H. — The place deseribed 
— Anecdotes respecting Dr. Payson's childhood, furnished 
by several individuals. 200 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Dr. Payson in person — Personal habits — His portraits gen- 
erally imperfect likenesses — Dr. Payson's solemnity of 
countenance misconstrued — He was not morose or forbid- 
ding — His views of God's purposes with regard to his 
bodily infirmities — His tender and sympathetic feelings. 210 



CHAPTER XVII. 

His condescension and humility — Illustrated by several ex- 
amples — His aversion to flattery — Remarkably free from 
ostentation, flippancy or superciliousness — Remarks on 
the folly and danger of such a spirit in ministers — Peace- 
able in spirit, yet able to meet an antagonist when occasion 
called — Illustrated by an instance during a visit to Sara- 
toga Springs. 230 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

It is not known that he had any musical talent — An anec- 
dote — He was not a fastidious or hypercritical hearer — 
His kind feelings towards young ministers — An illustra- 
tion — His appreciation of talent — Several anecdotes 



CONTENTS. XIU 

furnished by a minister once a member of his church — 
His impatience at mental dullness — Our feelings of ven- 
eration towards him while in his presence. 242 

OHAPTEE XIX. 

His view of church discipline — Some remarks on the same 
subject. 249 

CHAPTER XX. 

His concentration of mind and unity of purpose — Careful- 
ness to avoid whatever might hinder his usefulness — Great 
utility of his pastoral visits — The happy disappointment. 253 

CHAPTER XXI. 

His voyage to Charleston, S. C. in 1817. 261 

CHAPTER XXII. 

His conversation always in keeping with occasions — A mar- 
riage ceremony — His prudence and propriety of speech and 
behavior — His remarks on hearing his sister's death an- 
nounced. 267 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

The different methods he adopted to advance the spiritual in- 
terests of his flock — His visits to the house of mourning 
— Happy results of one, related by a correspondent — Ref- 
erence to his devotional habits in his family— The congrega- 
gation once called to arise — ^The scene described — Results 
in a revival — Interesting scene at a prayer meeting of the 
young men of his church — The "Young Men's Society" 
described. 270 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Charge of idolatry in Dr. Payson's people considered — His 



Xiv CONTENTS. 

uncommon piety and talents, combined, constituted the ba- 
sis of his extraordinary eminence — The warm admiration 
for him universal among his people — No room for jealousy 
or envy on the part of his successors — Our opinion of Dr- 
P. unchanged afted a lapse of twenty years — A lady's 
visit to him during his last sickness — Lines composed by 
her, after her return home. ' 281 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Character of his Theology — Anecdote respecting the Exer- 
cise and Taste scheme — His Calvinism once challenged 

Was his preaching ^of a sufficiently doctrinal character ? 

— Free from all innovations in his theology — Beautiful 
harmony between his preaching and practice — His strong 
confidence in God, illustrated. 292 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

Difference in religious opinions, less a hindrance to ministerial 
exchanges now, than formerly— A word respecting dif- 
rent denominations — The white flag — Occasions in Dr. 
Payson's ministry, which called for his conscientious 
straight-forwardness — Rev. Dr. Nichols' ordination ~ Mr. 
Payson's dissent from the opinions of the council — Mr. 
Willis' remarks on the subject — Mr. Willis' high eulogiura 
on Dr. P. — His act of dismissing the people without the 
usual benediction explained and defended — Anecdote 
touching this subject, of the Rev. Mr. Flavel — His leaving 
the Conference room abruptly, noticed and explained — He 
did not possess an overbearing spirit. 306 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Would Dr. Pay son have been a " reformer," as the term is 
identified with the present age ? — Strictly conservative, yet 
not averse to modern improvements — The so-called "sixty 
nine Society," in 1815 — Peace Society — The first establish- 
ment of Sabbath Schools in Portland — He stood aloof from 
political struggles — Remarks of others on this subject. 823 



CONTENTS 3^Y 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Letters from several individuals respecting Dr.Payson and his 
ministry — One from Dr, P. to the compiler. 829 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

Concluding Reflections upon his general character — His 
dying hours — Remarks on the intimate connection between 
the life and the death of individuals — Dying in character 
—The dying hour the index of the life — An affectionate 
and respectful consideration of the question, " What effect 
ought the twenty years of such faithful preaching as Dr. 
Payson's to have had upon his hearers ?" — Dr. Payson's re- 
markably triumphant death only!what was to have been 
anticipated — Some remarks of the biographer of Rev. Mr. 
Cecil, touching this subject. 33 

APPENDIX. 

Portland in 1855 —The prediction respecting its prosperity, 
fast being accomplished — Portland renowned as the scene 
of Payson's labors and place of sepulture — Reflections 
awakened while on a visit to the house he occupied during 
the first years of his ministry, — ■ Drs. Reed and Matheson's 

visit to Portland — to Dr. Payson's family and pulpit 

Remodelling the church edifice and removal of the pul- 
pit to the vestry — W. B. Tappan's lines at the grave of 
Payson. 352 



INTRODUCTIOK 



No recollections are more precious than those which relate t& 
the intercourse between a beloved pastor and his flock. Deatii 
Ims sundered the mortal tie, yet upon the memory of the be- 
reaved flock the scenes of a faithful and endeared ministry still 
linger with undiminished interest. If such a relation is among the 
last that we forget on earth, will it not be the strongest and pure&t 
^n heaven, except that only which will subsist between the blood.- 
bought and Him w4io paid the mighty price for their redemption? 

To be able to say of our pastor, he was our spiritual fathe? 
and guide, we now see him as he stood in the holy place, at the 
baptismal-font, or at our Master's table, at the bed-side of the 
sick, or in the house of mourning; or as he walked with us by 
the way and opened- tons the Scriptures j to remember his humble? 
affectionate demeanor, his untiring efforts for our spiritual im- 
provement; to cast a reflective eye over su<jh departed scenes^ 
how does it gladden the heart even in the sadness of the thought 
that we shall no more behold his face on the earth. 

" The sweet remembrance of the just 
Shall flourish v/lien they sleep in dust."^ * 

The fame of Dr. Payson had obtained a currency and an el- 
evation of sufficient notoriety before his death ; as much so as- 
was desirable for his own comfort or usefulness. That his popu- 
larity was a source of bitter lamentation to hhn^elf, is seen from 
his published diary, a record of humiliating confessions of the 
" sin that dwelt in him." 

No longer an inhabitant of earth, he is alike unaffected by 
censure and applause — he wrestles and mourns no more. The 
objects upon, that sea of glory upon which he launched, beheld 
once, in tlie dimness of mortal vision, and with which he is now 
surrounded. All to extacy every capacity of his immortal nature. 
Transported with the beatific employments of his everlasting homCy 
can he find a thought to bestow upon this " prioon of hi;? clay,." 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

only as memory may revert to the theater of his useful labors, or 
as the abode of his spirit's thraldom ? 

It is good to mingle in thought with the scenes of the blest 
and to dwell by a lively faith on those employments in v;hich we 
hope, ere-long, ourselves to participate. Such a visit to the spir- 
it-land cannot fail to deaden the glare of earthly attractions, and 
to clothe the objects of our faith with a deeper reality. There yet 
live upon the earth tliose who hung upon his lips and listened to 
the words of life ; who felt the warm breathings of his soul, the 
subduing power of his soul-lit eye, his kind and cordial embrace. 
Memory still retains his image in living colors, and we would 
transmit it as perfect as possible to our children ; and children's 
children in all coming generations shall behold and admire. 

And the work should be hastened. Death is hastening with 
his work ; busy year after year in consigning to the dust the rem- 
nant of the pastor's flock. A large proportion of his great con- 
gregation are now slumbering with him side by side in that great- 
er congregation of the dead. We walk among the tombs and 
read. The same hand which has chiseled their names upon the 
*' dull cold marble " will soon inscribe ours. Together they sat in 
heavenly places on earth, together they rest in the place of sep* 
ulture. And the morning of the resurrection cometh when to 
gether the sheperd and his flock Vv^il rise, '» for this mortal shall put 
on immortality." If it be "greatly wise to talk with our past 
hours," it may be wise and profitable to dwell upon the mem- 
ory of the *4oved and gone,'' once the busy occupants of those 
hours, who were eminent examples of piety ; not only to stand 
at their tombs and weep over their ashes, but to recall the pious 
instructions which fell from their lips. Thus may we walk again 
with them on earth and live our lives over again, and receive, it 
may be, a lesson from the dead which shall be more heeded and 
better improved than those to which we listened from their living 
lips. 

It cannot be doubted that an auto-biography of Dr. Payson 
would have been a rich legacy to the world Although his pub- 
lished diary and letters reveal much of his character, yet the curi- 
osity of the public would h?.ve been more fully sitisaed could the 



INTRODUCTION. Vli 

portrait have been drawn at fall length by his own hand. To 
have published sach a biography would doubtless have been too 
formidable an undertaking for a man of his delicate sensibilities- 
Such an exposure of himself, as he appeared in his own eyes, 
would have resembled somewhat the "Prophet's roll," although 
abounding in sunny spots, joyful triumphs over sin, and " Eb- 
enezers " set up all a.long the way, as monuments of God's won- 
derful interposition in his favor. Such a volume must have ex- 
hibited a most interesting portraiture, — the lights and shadows of 
a deep and extraordinary Christian experience. 

Equally gratifying would it be, could he have given us a history 
of his youthful days, a peep into the dawn of his manhood ; could 
he have taken us vv^ith him over the hills and valleys of his early 
home and admitted us to his own contemplations of nature ) could 
he have taken us arm in arm with him to the village school or 
through the church-yard gate, or on the moonlight stroll, and al- 
lowed us to participate in the musings and aspirations of his youth- 
ful spirit. Could we have looked into his dark and thoughtful 
eye and seen pictured there the images of his anticipated future; 
in a word, could we have seen the future man in the embryo of his 
youth, how precious do we now feel would be the privilege. 

There are but very few allusions to his childhood in any record 
which we can find. Hence the comparative blank which appears 
in his early history. Yet so universal has become his fame that 
an interest attaches to every incident of his earlier or later life, 
coming from whatever source. We find, however, but little re- 
specting his childhood and youth beyond what is published in his 
memoir by Dr. Cummings. 



RECOLLECTIONS OE PAYSON. 



CHAPTER I. 



Portland in 1803 and Mr. Pay son's introduction there, in the same 
year. — Anecdotes of Mr. Pay son. — His oration on the Fourth 
of July 1806. 

The writer first became an eye-witness to the rising 
prosperity of Portland, in 1802, the year before Mr. Pay- 
son commenced his labors there as Preceptor of the 
Academy. Portland- at that period was in the hey-day 
of its youthful pride, [t had gradually risen from the 
fires of the revolution like a Phoenix from its ashes. Com- 
merce was rapidly enriching its enterprising citizens. 
The several learned professions were most respectably 
sustained. Young men of sparkling wit and accom- 
plished minds were easily found. Yet Payson mingled 
with but few. Infidelity, if not seen stalking abroad at 
noon-day, yet in its shame lurked in the covert of night 
and the secret conclave. A father's instruction and a 
mother's prayers, however, still exerted a strong and 
healthful influence over the mind of our youthful adven- 
turer, in his introduction to the duties of pubHc life. He 



10 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

Drought with him to the place of his first three years' la- 
hors a mind imhiied with moral principles, by which he 
was rendered in a measure impregnable to the fascina- 
tions of a popular skepticism, and by which he was en- 
abled to shun the vortex of forbidden mdulgences. The 
snare in which others have been taken, he escaped. He 
was naturally of very retinng habits. He was seldom 
seen in the streets. When his school hours w^ere over, 
making a short way home, he was in his rooms poring 
over his books. He was remarkably neat in his per- 
sonal appearance. We distinctly remember his attire ; 
his grave yet sprightly and unostentatious mien, and the 
slight inclination of his head to the left, as on the Sab- 
bath he ascended the stairs of the church on his way to 
the gallery-pew which he occupied. In his whole de- 
meanor, there was something peculiar even at that early 
period ; an impressiveness and a benignity of counte- 
nance seldom seen in the young ; while more from dif- 
fidence than any feeling of misanthropy or awkwardness 
{from which he was entirely free) he seemed to pass 
unheeding and unheeded along, with but little desire to 
mingle with the busy crowd. His physical constitution, 
naturally robust, was much impaired while performing 
the duties of his school, yet he possessed a great deal of 
energy, physical as well as mental. 

An anecdote touching to his superior muscular 
strength and activity was related to me by a friend and 
fellow-boarder of his, to this effect. A proposal was 
made by their host that the three should try their strength 
in mowing a small field of grass. The man was a giant 
in stature and the fellow-boarder a person of no mean 
size. The match commenced. At first Payson lagged. 
The competition was brisk ; each laying himself out to 



ilECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON» 11 

the umiost, and each ''with lusty sinews throvi^ing it 
aside with hearts of controversy.'' ^Tayson will be up 
with us," said one of them, "he is^ look out for his 
scythe ;'' and in the full swing of his strength did he 
sweep by them, a noble swath lying at his feet. lie con- 
tinued ahead of them until the work was completed. 

An incident was related by his companion just referred 
to, which perhaps derives its principal interest from the 
character of the individuals who are the subjects of the 
notice ; yet it may help to illustrate a feature in his 
character. When Preceptor of the Academy in Port- 
land, if any misdemeanor of his pupils rendered it nec- 
essary that some signal correction should be administer- 
ed, he resorted to the method of locking them up in the 
school-room during the intermission, where they had to 
remain until he returned from dinner. On one occasion 
he had left ' locked up," one of the largest sized lads of 
the school and one who was rather high spirited. On 
his way home it occurred to him that the culprit might 
make an attempt to escape from one of the windows, 
which were at a considerable height from the ground, 
and by so doing his life or limbs might be endangered. 
On reaching his boarding house Pvlr. Payson spoke of the 
circumstance to the family, at the same time manifesting 
much uneasiness as to what the result mio;ht be. He 
hastened back to the school room, and as he approached 
the Academy, his fears were realized ; for he saw his 
young prisoner suspended on the outside of the building, 
holding on by the window-sill, afraid to fall, and yet un- 
able to get back. Seeing him in this predicament the 
Preceptor cried out at the top of his voice, '' Hold on Bel- 
amy, hold on Belamy," — while he hastened to his rescue. 
The embarrassment of both parties may easily be imagin- 



12 RECOLLECTION'S OF PAYSON. 

ed. The ludicrous scene was doubtless often recalled to 
the mind of the Preceptor; and the- pupil, .still siMrviving, 
and as eminent in his own profession as Payson became 
in his, will be reminded by this page, should lie chance 
to see it, of one of the ^amusing passages of his school- 
boy life. 

While in charge of the Academy in Portland, he was 
but little known, except as a teacher and as a member 
of a literary club, consisting of young men, law-students 
and others, who met at appointed times for various liter- 
ary exercises. Yet he was highly esteemed by all who 
knew him, as a young man of great respectability and 
extraordinary talents. It was no equivocal evidence of 
the estimation in which he was held, that he was selected 
to deliver the Fourth of July oration, before the citizens 
of Portland in 1S06. Those were times of great politi- 
cal excitement, and Mr. Payson was the chosen orator of 
the Federal party. Pie v^as then in his 22d year; yet 
well and nobly did he sustain himself on the occasion. 
The oration is still remembered and spoken of as a most 
admirable production. 

Although the writer had not the pleasure of listening 
to the oration he well remembers the appearance of the 
people as they came from the place of concourse, still 
under the fa.scination of the discourse. The extreme 
gratification both of young and old was expressed in an 
outburst of a most honorable enthusiasm. The youthful 
orator, with universal consent bore away the palm from 
all that had precedeed him. Says Mr. Willis in his late 
history of Portland '• I attended Mr. Payson's oration, 
being then one of his pupils, and recollect that it was re- 
ceived with the greatest delight. Many pungent hits at 
the national administration received hearty applause. It 




]aECOLLECTlONS OF PAYSON. 13 

was very spicy and spirited. The great interest which 
Prof. McKeen of Harvard Co^Ilege (who was at that time 
supplying the desk cf the First Parish in r*ortland), 
seemed to take in the oration, particularly attracted 
ine." its political character was, probably the principal 
reason of his refusing a copy for the press. He foresaw 
that a public disclosure of his political views might prore 
detrimental to his future usefulness as a minister ; an 
early proof of his wisdom and prudence. — They who 
have since listened to his eloquence can imagine how rich • 
must have been the literary repast furnished to the citi- 
zens of Portland on the Fourth of July 1806. Then, 
even on that very, day went forth the herald thatbespoke 
his. coming fame. The same flashes and thunder tones 
that had broken as in a tempest of eloquence upon a 
Fourth of July audience, were in a year or two to elec- 
trify the crowded, spell-bound congregation of the Sab- 
bath, assembled in the same house, and continued to do 
so during a period of twent}^ years. His celebrated ora- 
tion, I am informed by Hon. S. Patten, his room-mate 
and bed-fellow for several years, was a very hasty pro 
duction. Having accepted the invitation of the com- 
mittee to address them on the occasion, he was only from 
noon until the next morning in writing and committing it 
to memory. 

Mr. Pay son employed his pen occasionally in prepaid 
ing articles for one of the papers published in Portland. 
He was, says an acquaintance, a capital poet. He wrote 
a New Years Address in the Hudibrastic style which was 
regarded as a very successful production. The remark 
that '' he would have become eminent in either of the 
learned professions " none can doubt, who were ac- 
quainted with the man or his writings. Such was the 



14 EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYS ON. 

extent of his knowledge, his acquaintance with human 
nature in all its hidden intricacies and developments ; 
his imagination, so inventive and brilliant, that had his 
attention been directed to the cultivation of poetry or to 
the writing of fictitious narrative, or had he wooed the 
traojic muse, in either case success would doubtless have 
crowned his efforts. Or could conscience have listened 
for a moment to the suggestion (as it would not) that he 
might have excelled in the histrionic art, no one v/ouM 
have stood a fairer candidate for success in that profes- 
sion. The manliness of his person, the energy of his 
enunciation, the compass and intonations of his voice, 
the fire of his flashing eye — inueed the strong and flex- 
ible expression of his whole countenance, when irradi- 
ated by deep en>otion, as we have seen it in the pulpit, 
together with hi& accurate conception of the character he 
would personate, would have placed him hrgh among 
those who hive excelled in histrionic effort. We know 
not to what extent his youthful aspirations might have been 
kindled, in view of worldly fam€ or distinction ; but, if 
such an ambition had been awakened in his bosom, the 
rising flame was soon subdued by a nobler impulse. A 
*' world lying in wickedness " was spread out before 
him. He saw the curse of God pressing deep and heavy 
upon the race, which must soon sink its millions in the 
unmitigated despair of the second dealh. The Godlike 
purpose to go forth as a humble instrument to the rescue 
of his fellow men, sprang up in his heart ; a purpose 
strong and invincible, paramount to all others, and which 
was carried into execution with a zeal that never abated. 
Thus, in his early history v/ere seen developed those ele- 
ments of character, wh ch constituted the man in later 
life. A path he trod, not indeed strewed with flowers, 



EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON, 15 

often rugged and densely overshadowed ; yet was it the 
way to endless life, both to himself, and to many whom 
he will rejoice to meet at the right hand of "God, saved 
through his instrumentality. 

Undismayed he held on his way with occasional sun- 
gleams from the parting cloud, which at last passed aw^ay, 
leaving him to behold the rainbow of promise that over* 
hung his evening sky, until the sun of life went down in 
mild and unclouded splendor* 

We cannot forbear to direct the attention of those 
young men whose minds are either vacillating on the 
subject of choosing a profession for life, or who may 
have decided against entering upon the work of the min- 
istry, to the unalterable purpose which pervaded the 
breast of the subject of this memoir. Let them consider 
the amount of good which he was enabled to accomplish 
and view the ^' crown of his rejoicing" studded with im' 
perishable jewels that he now wears, and ask themselves 
in what other way they will be as likely to perform an 
equal amount of good as by following the example of 
this devoted minister of Jesus Christ. No man had 
stronger inducements than he to lay his acquirements upon 
the altar of worldly ambition, and yet he brought the 
*'gold, frankincense and myrrh," the riches of a highly 
gifted mind, and laid them down at the Savior's feet. 
Young man, silence not the voice of conscience, but 
hear him who now speaks, '' Let the dead bury thei 
dead, but go tliou and preach the kingdom of God." 

The consideration that the minister's life is spent for 
the good of others, is pleasant indeed when he enters 
upon his labors, yet amounting to an unspeakable 
joy when the great master shall call upon his servants to 
give an account of their stewardship. What if the min^ 



16 tlECOLLECl:iO]N'S OF PAYSON. 

ister of Christ is expected always to be imparting instruct 
tion, " line upon line, line upon line," giving and giving ; 
here sowing and there watering ; then watching and now 
praying, and then dying. Is there no reward ? No 
reaping in all this, even in the present life ? Whoso 
hath left houses and knds and all worldly good for Christ's 
sake and the Gospel's, shall receive not only the hundred 
fold here, but in the world to come everlasting life. But 
why present motives ? The *^ word shut up in the bones," 
will as surely find a Yent^ as the fire.s of Vesuvius. The 
man fit to preach at all, or who shall hope for success in 
the ministry, can no more be stopped in his course than 
can the flowing tide. Obstacles will only strengthen his 
power of resistance. Tell him of more lucrative occu- 
pations, or of more eligible professions, and you do but in- 
sult him. Point him to the cross he must take up if he 
would be a true minister of Jesus Christ, and you do 
but fan the flame which burns within him* 



CHAPTER li. 

ills firvst coming' to Portland as a Preacher, and the condition of 
his field of labor. — The Payson fever. — Anecdote of Mr. N. C\ 
—Evangelical religion greatly revived.— Mr. Fayson's ordina- 
tion. — Rev. Mr. Kellogg's dismission. — Some remarks on his 
character. 

It was a remarkable era in the history of evangelical 
truth in Portland, when Mr. Payson commenced his min- 
isterial labors in that place. He appeared as a star of 
unusual brilliancy, v/hose presence was hailed as ominous 
of great good to the cause of piety, and which was seen 
shedding its light on the surrounding darkness. 

In scarcely any period of the Christian church, has the 
hand of God been more distinctly seen, in raising up 
special instruments for his work, than when he bestow- 
ed upon this church so bright an accession gift ; one who 
was so eminently endowed with gifts of nature and o^ 
grace. His first sermon elicited tiie remark, that no such 
man as Payson had yet been among them. Nor was it 
an ephemeral brilHancy that sometimes dazzles the view 
of an enraptured audience, and calls forth the warmest 
encomiums upon a gifted orator, soon to vanish in disap- 
pointment. 

His were sterling traits of character, not tinsel orna- 
ments, but massive and pure gold, as successive years 
of trial gave ample witness. We have seen that the 
'^ gold never became dim, nor the fine gold changed.'" 



18 KECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

An interest was awakened to the subject of religion in 
the place where he labored, unprecedented in modern 
times. The period had arrived, when God would work, 
and he prepared and furnished the instrument. 

Of Portland, it is true to remark, though we lament it, 
that vital piety "had fallen in the streets," at least, or was 
at a very low ebb. We do not affirm that evangelical 
truth was not preached there, but it was rendered nearly 
powerless by reason of the great worldly prosperity with 
which the place had been visited, duririg several previous 
years, although it was now upon the eve of a sad reverse. 
There was, as is usual, accompanying this tide of worldly 
success, a strong desire for amusements, which the car- 
nal heart loves ; such as theatrical entertainments, bails, 
assemblies, and card parties. Besides, there was a free 
and almost universal indulgence in the use of intox- 
icating beverages, among nearly all classes. This was a 
feature in their history, however hateful it may now ap- 
pear to us and to them, v/hich was a destructive feature 
of the age. A custom, however, not more prevalent 
there than almost everywhere else at that day. 

Neither public opinion then, nor rule of fashion, nor 
principle of law was violated by this indulgence. We 
rejoice to know that the general opinion and practice of 
the remnant of that generation and their children, is now 
entirely changed. 

To the praise of God's grace it should be recorded 
that here and there an Enoch and a Daniel, a Deborah 
and an Anna were found, walking with God, " continu- 
ing instant in prayer" for the coming of Christ's king- 
dom, yet were they accounted as rare instances in those 
times of religious declension. Then there were no Bi- 
ble-classes and Sabbath schools, as now. 



lEC'OLLECTIONS OF PAYSOIT. 19 

About the time Mr. Payson came, or just before, a 
religious iaterest Wcis awakened among the Calvmist 
Baptists and Methodists. There were also a few con- 
greo;ational brethren and others who were in the habit of 
assembling for public worship, at different places iu 
town, and who might be cansidered as a church in an 
an incipient state. 

Kev. Jotham Sewall^ Rev. Mr. Miltimore of Newburj, 
and perhaps some others, preached to this congregation, 
A nucleus was hereby formed, around which a rehgious 
society was ultimately organized, and Rev. Dr. Beman 
now of Troy, New York, was their first settled pastor, 
who remained with them about two yearn. They were 
afterward organiz^ed under the name of the Chapel 
Church, and Rev. E. Kellogg, v/as installed over them. 
He was succeeded by two or three others. With a reor- 
ganization in 1832, the Society took the name of tiie 
Third Congregational Church and Society. It has since 
become one of the most flourishing churches in the city, 
and is under the supervision of Eev. W. T. Dwight, D. D., 
its present Pastor. 

It was doubtless owing, under God, to the coming of 
so extraordinary a man as Mr. Payson among the peo- 
ple, that the cause of evangelical religion so greatly re- 
vived- in the town and vicinity, and in a measure through 
the State. 

The Church of God v/as seen '^ coming up from the 
wilderness ; " the Spirit was evidently present, to accom- 
pany the labors of his servant, and '-' the thoughts of 
many hearts were revealed." An unwonted seriousness 
prevailed generally among the people, and a cloud of no 
doubtful promise appeared in the horizon, giving signs 
of an abundance of rain. 



20 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

The '' Payson fever," a term of reproach which ob- 
tained among the opposers of the truth in the place, was 
indeed spreading not without alarm, and to the great 
annoyance and vexation of those who began to feel that 
their peace was to be endangered by this epidemic, and 
their worldly joys were to be jeopardized. 

The ark of God had indeed come among them-, and 
*' Dagon must fall." The term which they had affixed to 
this spreading fanaticism, was sarcastic and a misnomer. 

It was not the '' Pa3^son fever," Vv^hich had begun to 
do its work of devastation and ruin, it was the power of 
the Holy Spirit, in his life and energy, convincing sin- 
ners of the '' plague of their own hearts ; " and it was 
through the instrumentality of this skilful physician, that 
they were directed to the Balm of Gilead, and the great- 
er Physician there. 

With the diagnosis of their disease Mr. Payson was 
well acquainted. Himself a '^ stricken deer," he could 
direct to a cure, from deep personal acquaintance with 
sin and with Him v/ho came to pluck away its deadly 
sting. In a word " Ephraim was made to see his sick- 
ness and Judah to feel his wound." 

Mr. Payson continued to preach with great fervency 
and power; the kingdom of darkness trembled, and the 
cry of keen mental anguish w^as heard in different parts 
of the town. 

" Is the Lord among us or not ?" a question, often the 
offspring of despondency and unbelief, was about to be 
decided in the most satisfactory manner to the friends of 
evangelical truth. Those in the circles of the wealthy 
and the gay as well as those in the more humble spheres, 
Yfcre seen bowing their ears to religious instruction, 
^' watching at wisdom's gates, and waiting at the posts of 



BECOLLECTIOI^B OF PAYSON". 21 

ner doors/' Vital piety, which had been so generally 
despised or undervalued among us, had become respect- 
ed and .embraced by many ; and was seen standing up 
unabashed in its pristine purity. 

Mr. C, a very distinguished, yet somewhat eccentdc 
Christian professor, who had long been singing his solo 
strains, even " the Lord'^s song in a strange land," and 
who never would '' hang his harp upon the willows''^ 
come what v/ould, reproach or persecution, storm or sun- 
shine, was now heard to remark, that " when he first 
made a profession of religion, it went barefoot, but now, 
in silver slippers." Zion was indeed now seen putting on 
her garments of salvation, while " beautiful upon the 
mountains, appeared the feet of them who published sal- 
vation" by the cross. 

In connection with the religious history of Portland, 
the gentleman here alluded to, Mr. N. C, deserves a pass- 
ing notice. He was originally from Newburyport, a 
very respectable citizen, and of an excellent Christian 
character ; noted for his zeal in religion ; and especially 
useful to young converts, and Christians under their vari^ 
ous trials, to whom they could repair for counsel. He 
was at this time very much alone in his profession, there 
being but few with whom he was disposed to hold spirit- 
ual fellowship. His house was a home for ministers 
and Christians who visited the place. By occupation a 
tin-plate worker, he was always found at his shop ; and 
he would hammer and solder, and quote Matthew Henry 
(his favorite commentator) by the hour together. You 
seldom met him, but he would inquire into your spiritqal 
state rather abruptly withal, yet was it always taken in 
good part. Keligion had a very decided ascendancy in his 
mind ; — this v/as apparent to all, both friends and foes. 



22 RECOLLECTIONS OF PATSON. 

Among professors of religion too, the triitli so scorch-- 
ing in its character, accompanied by the spirit, was mak- 
ing fearful developments of hypocrisy or of a Laodicean 
spirit. God had come down from his holy place ^' to find 
out the men who were settled upon their lees," who had 
said '-'the Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil.'^ 

The amiuble yet self-deceived moralist, began to dis- 
cover the plague-spot in the heart ; and convinced of the 
need of a better righteousness than his own, was seen 
fleeing to Elim who had wrought out and brought in an 
everlasting righteousness for the naked souls of men. 

There was indeed ^' great joy in that city." The 
scoffer paid no longer an unwilling homage to the power 
that was doing wonders around him, and which had 
opened his own heart, to receive the Savior. The beau- 
ties of the new creation were seen upon the countenance, 
and in the families of many, but recently the deci- 
ded enemies of the truth. Contumely was exchanged for 
the highest respect for religion generally, and for the 
minister whom God had sent among them, and the clear 
and discriminating and humbling doctrines which he so 
fearlessly, yet affectionately preached. 

'^ We beseech thee to depart out of our coasts," many 
could have said before, who now had changed their tune 
almost into '^ Hosanna, blessed art thou who comest in 
the name of the Lord." The eyes once holden, are 
opened to behold the glory of Christ, and the heart hith- 
erto ''the cage of every unclean and hateful bird," is 
undergoing the purifying process which the Holy Ghost 
performs, when He enters to prepare himself a residence 
among the sons of men. 

We have already admitted that at the time Dr. Payson 
commenced his labors in P., there was genuine piety in 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 23 

the place, as seen in a few solitary examples ; nor was 
the truth withholden from the pulpit ; yet the truth had 
but few professors, and the world hung upon it as an in- 
cubus. To remove the spiritual torpor, to resuscitate the 
dying embers, was this man of God sent, as a humble 
instrument among them. Yet many remained unbeliev- 
ing ; refusing to submit their understandings, or to bow 
their hearts to the truth thus presented, who were nev- 
ertheless induced to inquire more or less covertly, " are 
these things so ? '' 

Had this excitement produced only fruits of a mush- 
room growth, it doubtless would have soon been appar- 
ent. But how different its character as seen in its results. 
The illusive meteor vanishes anon, while the light of the 
morning is steady and progressive, even unto the perfect 
day. That this was the character of this great move- 
ment among the people of Dr. Payson's early ministry, 
cannot be doubted. 

His character from the commencement of his ministry 
above suspicion, became still more highly appreciated 
as long as he lived among them- The tongue of slander 
was occasionly moved against him, just enough, perhaps, 
to insure to him the divine blessing, but no man could be 
in fact, more invulnerable to the poisoned shaft ; no man 
less deserved the reproach of men. 

His humble and unostentatious demeanor; his zeal, 
ardent, yet so well-tempered ; his aims, so lofty, yet so 
single ; his eloquence as a preacher excelling all who had 
been there before him ; his love for the souls of his peo- 
ple ; his entire consecration to his Master's work ; were 
so apparent, so undeniable, that he could not but secure 
the confidence and respect of all discerning and ingenu 
ous minds. 



24 RECOLLECTIOXS OF PAYSON. 

The Lord had much people in this place, and He who 
directcth the steps of his ministers, appointed this emi- 
nent servant to labor where He himself would come, that 
he " might gather fruit unto life eternal." 

Doubtless the remark was often made, while the com- 
munity was all astir, during these scenes of religious 
awakening, somewhat like that of old ; '' They who have 
turned the world upside down, have come hither also." 
Yet such an overturn in the community, was only the 
legitimate effect of the plain and earnest application of 
divine truth to the conscience. 

It was a demonstrative exhibition of cause and effect ; 
and to every wondering inquirer respecting such results 
as were then witnessed, or as are ever witnessed on sim- 
ilar occasions, we may safely answer in the language of 
Christ to the disciples of John, who had been sent of him 
to inquire who it was that was performing such mighty 
deeds, the knowledge of which had come to his ears, 
'' Go tell John, what ye do see and hear ; the sick are 
healed ; the lepers are cleansed, the dead are raised." 
Tell John this, and he will be satisfied as to my charac- 
ter and doctrines, w^ho I am, my mission and my author- 
ity. The facts speak for themselves. John knows, that 
divine power alone can give life to the dead. So when 
sinners dead in trespasses and sins pass from death unto 
life, there is a special power and a divine blessing ac- 
companying those doctrines that have produced such a 
change. God's own power is manifest, and present to 
heal. 

To such doctrines as Dr. Payson preached, God sets 
his seal of approbation and salvation, but no such distin- 
tinguishing accompaniment is seen to follow the preach- 
ing of an opposite character, or of a negative character 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 25 

or as we may say, of no character at all. We saw the 
influence of Payson's life and labors in Portland and 
in the adjaceut towns, in counteracting a spirit of world- 
liness and skepticism. 

How clearly we then saw, and do still see, that just 
such a man as he, was needed for those times ; as we see 
that just such men as Luther and Knox were needed for 
the day in which they lived ; and may we not add, just 
such men as are needed for the present and for all times. 

niS ORDINATION. 

It was in August 1807, that Mr. Payson commenced 
his labors with the Second Church in Portland. 

His rising fame had already attracted the notice of the 
churches, and he had received several invitations to 
preach as a candidate for settlement. 

It was matter of perplexity to his own mind, as to the 
choice he should make of these several offers. To our 
very great gratification, he signified his acceptance of an 
invitation to become our pastor, while nothing in Provi- 
dence occurred afterwards, that led us to believe that he 
had mis-chosen his field of labor. 

The great and important results which have flowed 
from his settlement in Portland, gave unequivocal evi- 
dence that his prayers for divine guidance in this matter, 
were heard and answered. 

In December of the same year he received ordination. 
Most of those composing the council, have been re- 
moved by death. Besides the aid from the neighboring 
churches, there were present, the Rev. Dr. Buckminster, 
of Portsmouth, N. H., and the Kev. Dr. S. Payson, of 
Einge, N, H., father of the candidate, who preached 
the sermon ; the former giving the charge to the pastor. 



26 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

It was the custom in those days, for the pastor-elect to 
make a public announcement of his acceptance of the 
call, on the day of ordination. The service on that 
occasion, we remember to have been peculiarly sol- 
emn, as the youthful candidate stood up before the large 
assembly, and in tones evincive of deep feeling, seem- 
ed to realize the weight of responsibility he was about to 
assume. 

The whole scene is too deeply impressed upon our 
mind, ever to be forgotten. The sermon was founded 
upon Paul's words to Timothy, " Lay hands suddenly 
on no man." This injunction of the Apostle, repeated 
and enforced by parental authority and affection, the son 
never ceased to observe, both in its spirit and letter, as 
his subsequent course on ordination occasions, sufficient- 
ly testifies. 

The deep devotion which pervaded the mind of the 
father, during his delivery of the sermon, and especially 
at the close, when he addressed the pastor elect, as his 
" dear son^^'^ served to remind us all of that dear son, 
whom we were now to look upon as our own beloved pas- 
tor, and which could not fail to awaken, in hearts that so 
dearly loved him, unutterable emotions. 

In rhatter and manner as a preacher, Dr. Pay son has 
been compared to President Davies, of Nassau Hall. — 
The comparison we should think a very just one. 

Judging from the sermon of his father, preached at 
the ordination, and others we have read from the same 
pen, we know of no other preacher, whom Dr. Payson so 
nearly resembled. There was the same characteristic 
pathos and simplicity of manner, the same affectionate 
tones, the same plainness, directness and transparency of 
style, common to the preaching of the father and the son. 



EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 27 

It is only just to observe here, that the individual who 
was principally instrumental of procuring the services of 
Mr. Payson for the second parish in Portland, was the 
Rev. Elijah Kellogg, the pastor of that church, and with 
whom Mr. Payson now became associated as col- 
league. 

This connection continued for nearly four years. The 
senior pastor usually preached in the forenoon, and the 
junior pastor in the afternoon of the Sabbath, and also on 
Thursday evenings a stated lectiire. At the weekly con- 
ference meetings, sometimes one presided, sometimes 
the other. 

Mr. Willis in his history of Portland, speaks of the 
character of Mr. Kellogg, and of his settlement there, in 
terms highly commendatory, as follows : 

" He exerted a powerful influence in the community., 
when he came to Portland, as a man of fine talents, and 
of great ardor ; but he was unhappily drawn int© 
worldly speculations, which greatly diminished his influ- 
ence.'' 

Perhaps it may be considered an apology for Mr. K., 
for the writer to state, that Mr. K^s. avowed object, in 
seeking to accumulate property was, that he might be 
able to preach the gospel without charge to his people. 
Whether the end will justify the means in the case, is 
somewhat questionable. 

There is nothing to show that the connection between 
the two pastors, was mutually pleasant, even as between 
a father and son. 

In his journal, Mr. Payson speaks of Mr. K., in the 
kindest terms, and with much affection. 

During the four years of their colleagueship, the latter 
manifested a becoming zeal and interest in his minislc- 



28 RECOLLECTION'S OF PATSOX, 

rial labors. In a journal kept by the compiler, frequent 
mention is made of his able and edifying discourses. 

With Mr. Kellogg's doctrinal sentiments, Mr. Payson 
was satisfied, or he would not have consented to become 
connected with him as a colleague. And yet it seemed 
to be the design of Providence, that this connection 
should be dissolved at an early and unexpected period. 

Such had become the state of things in the parish, that 
it was judged advisable that a council should be called 
for that purpose, which took place on the 5th of Decem- 
ber 1811. Of the members of that council, it is believ- 
ed that one only is now living, the Rev. Asa Rand. 

From that council, of which Rev. Mr. Lancaster of 
Scarboro', was moderator, and Rev. Francis Brown, of 
North Yarmouth, was scribe, Mr. Kellogg received a 
recommendation as follows, on condition of certain con- 
cessions on the part of Mr. Kellogg : 

" The council recommAcnd him for the work of the 
ministry, wherever God in his holy providence shall call 
him. And from the knowledge the council have, of ths 
candor and tenderness, with which both the church and 
the junior pastor, the Rev. Mr. Payson, have been dispos- 
ed to treat the Rev. Mr. Kellogg, through the whole 
scene of their recent difficulties, they indulge the confi- 
dent anticipation tha.t the church will cheerfully unite 
with the Councl in the preceeding recommendation. '^ 

Mr. Kellogg accepted the result of Council as by letter 
to the Second Church, Dec. 11, 1811, a copy of which 
the compiler has in his possession. 

According to the hope of the Council, the church pass- 
ed a vote " that respecting the transactions of the Coui> 
cil, they were S9,tisfied-" 



RECOLLECTIOKS OF PAYSON. ^ 29 

The following entry is found on the church records : 
'' Voted that the church unite with the Council, in recom- 
mending Eev. Mr. Kellogg, to the work of the Gospel 
ministry : praying that he may find by happy experience, 
his trials promoting his best good and future usefulness.'' 

The shock to Mr. Kellogg and his friends, occasioned 
by this rupture of solemn and tender ties, (and it was a 
severe one, as we who witnessed the painful scene, do 
well remember,) Mr. Kellogg acknowledged was of spec- 
ial spiritual benefit, to him. His christian and ministe- 
rial light shone brighter ever afterwards ; nor did his zeal 
in the cause of his master seem to abate, through a 
period of thirty successive years, which brought him to 
the good old age of eighty-two, when he ceased from his 
labors on earth. 

As a Missionary in the eastern part of Maine, among 
the Aborigines, and in establishing churches, or in aiding 
feeble ones, he was successful and unwearied. 

His memory is endeared to many in Washington Co,, 
Maine, who are now enjoying the fruits of his labors as 
a pioneer among them. 

Of this fact, the writer can testify from his own knowl- 
edge, having recently visited some of the churches he 
planted in that region, who had his heart made glad, 
when hearing many a blessing pronounced upon the 
memory of " Father Kellogg." 

His venerable relict removed from Portland, a few years 
ago, to reside with her son, the Eev. E. Kellogg, 
at Harpswell, where she has since deceased. 

Note. — As a memorial of respect to the several pastors of the 
Second Church their names have been inscribed upon two marble 
slabs, one on each side of the pulpit. Rev. ]*Uijah Kelloo-g stands 
first, Edward Fayson next j then follow successively the names 

2 



30 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON,' 

In iustification of his course, in introducing this sub- 
ject to the public, tlie compiler, who was an intimate 
friend of Mr. K., has no other motive but to present such 
an impartial view of it, as may prove satisfactory to all 
parties concerned. 

Such was the excitement at the time of the event, and 
for a considerable length of time afterwards, that it was 
doubtless considered by the compiler of ''Dr. Payson's 
Memoir" as injudicious to touch particularly upon the 
subject. Probably, some at the present day, may judge 
it to be inexpedient to do so now. 

The compiler of this work, having an intimate knowl- 
edge of the whole m^atter, and being one of the actors in 
the scene, has thought that an impartial history of those 
times, required this exhibition of the transaction, that 
justice might be awarded both to the senior and the junior 
pastor. 

We think that no opprobrium should rest upon the 
character or the memory of Dr. Pay son, for all our 
knowledge of his pastoral and christian integrity forbid 
it. Nor should we withhold our respect for the memory 
of Mr. Kellogg, by an unjust silence^ deeming that the 
names of both pastors should appear in this history, side 
by side, and go down to posterity together, in respectful 
companionship. 

In conclusion w^e remark, that seeing the Great Head 
of the Church had evident designs of mercy in this 
event ; and that a respectable council had thought it ex- 
1 cdient that the pastoral relation should be dissolved ; it 

of Bennet Tyler, D. D., Joseph Vaill, D. D., and Jona. B. Con- 
dit, D. D. 

The edifice was built for Rev. Mr. Kellogg, in 1787, and has 
several times since been re-modeled. 



EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 31 

is not for us, at this distance of time, to look up the caus- 
es which more directly or indirectly led to the result. 

The situation of the two pastors may be represented 
as follows : 

One had been planted a young tree, side by side with 
the other. The soil which was congenial to the one, was 
such to the other. The younger tree took deep root, 
flourished, and bore fruit abundantly. The elder ceased 
not in its fruitfulness. There v/as no apparent interfer- 
ence among the branches, or roots ; and yet the plough- 
share must needs go through the field, and under the 
hand of the great Dresser of the vineyard, " one was 
taken, and the other left.'' 

It did not behoove the junior pastor to interpose in 
this matter ; (i, e. he probably so thought) or to upbraid 
the wisdom or the sovereignty of the great Disposer of 
events, whatever might be the result He left it so. He 
felt his incompetency to fathom the designs of God, and 
conscientiously avoided any personal interference ; deem- 
ing it his duty, to observe a strict neutrality in the case. 

Whatever may be said by friend or foe with respect to 
the result, the crowning glory of the whole dispensation, 
was, the subsequent prosperity of Dr. Payson's ministry ; 
and the removal of the original tree from its place, only 
caused it to be more abundant in fruit-bearing. What- 
ever complexion the whole affair may have assumed, or 
does still assume, in the eyes of short-sighted mortals, 
we may safely say, " God meant it for good." 

Mr. Willis further states respecting Mr. Kellogg ; 
" His address at the funeral of Kev. Thomas Smith, the 
venerable pastor of the 1st Church in Portland, affords 
evidence that Mr. K. was master of a touching and finished 
style of composition, and very original withal." 



32 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

We may also add, in confirmation of the above senti- 
ment, an incident which took place in 1807. The pack- 
et schooner Charles from Boston for Portland, command- 
ed by Capt. Adams, with a number of passengers on 
board, was wrecked on Richmond's Island, near Portland 
harbor, with the loss of several lives ; among which were 
the captain and his wife. 

The funeral was attended at the church of Mr. Kel- 
logg, who conducted the religious services of the occa- 
sion. It was a scene of deep interest and solemnity. 
We distinctly remember, during Mr. Kellogg's address, 
how eloquent he became, when addressing the bereaved 
mourners, and as he pointed to the mourning pew of 
Capt. Adams, j:hen occupied by the stricken and desolate 
family, with the words, '* Behold, yon little nest of or- 
phans." 

As on the sculptured marble, so on the page of the" 
ecclesiastical history of Portland, let the names of this 
father and son in the ministry, be transmitted to posterity, 
in fair and mutual companionship. 

Let us be willing to say, that they had imperfections 
in common with our fallen race. Let it suffice, that, 
passed to their immortality, they are now forever free 
from them. 

" Nor draw their frailties from their dread abode, — 
There they alike in trembling hope repose, 
The bosom of their Father and their God." 



CHAPTER III. 

The sources of Dr. Pay son's popularity considered. — The char- 
acter of his preaching. His appearance in the pulpit.— Anec- 
dote of the Indians. — The high estimation in which he was 
held by his people — Invariably the same with strangers. — Op- 
position awakened by his preaching. — An anecdote. — The ex- 
traordinary solemnity which his sermons produced upon the 
minds of his audience, did not leave them, when they retired 
from the sanctuary. 

Dr. Payson's pulpit talents were of a different charac- 
ter from those of Wesley and Whitefield : yet had he 
chosen an itinerant ministry, he could scarcely have failed 
to reach an equal eminence with them. His fame as a 
preacher, both at home and abroad, remained undimin- 
ished. 

The scintillations of genius that flashed from his pul- 
pit discourses, attracted the admiration of many. His 
deep piety and Christian experience were appreciated by 
others ; while some who disliked his doctrines, were 
charmed by his style and manner. Thus were crowds 
drawn to hear him for the gratification of their respect- 
ive tastes. 

He overlooked no class of his hearers. Each felt that 
the speaker came with a message from God to him. The 
peculiar necessities of the tempted, and the afllicted, and 
of all, under their various circumstances of trial, shared 
his sympathies ; while no class of the impenitent escaped 
his faithful, yet affectionate reproofs. 



34 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

Although but a young man, there was no unripeness 
in his youth. 

The old and experienced Christian was not heard to 
say, I can learn nothing from him. Age, wisdom, and 
experience were seen sitting under the shadow of his 
pulpit with great delight. 

The honorable and the wealthy, and those of different 
denominations, appreciated and improved the privilege 
of listening to his instructions, and with the deepest in-^ 
terest. In years he was a child, in understanding, a man. 

Said the Rey. Dr. W., of the Baptist denomination, to 
the writer, " I have listened to four sermons in my life- 
time, which I have set down as great sermons ; one of 
them i heard from Dr. Payson." 

Although he sought not to win popularity, popular favor 
was awarded him in no stinted measure. Yet he covet- 
ed the approval of his own conscience, rather than honor 
from men ; the plaudit of the Judge at the great day of 
reckoning, rather than the caresses of the world. 

He " coveted indeed the best gifts ; " but it was for 
usefulness rather than for display ; not for his own honor, 
but for ihe glory of his Master. He would '' seek great 
things,'^ not for himself, but for Christ. 

He strove to be " a workman, that needeth not to be 
ashamed." If men would com.e to hear, and go away 
to applaud and to admire, that was no fault of his ; and 
yet this man of God, like all other faithful ministers, had 
to make his account with reproach and contumely, and 
sometimes, hard usage. As was before hinted, his name 
became associated with popular opprobrium and ridicule. 
It was more especially so, during the early period of his 
ministry. Nor did his church escape the lash of ridicule 
and reproach. The living coal of natural depravity. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOK. 35 

which had been so long covered up, now began to flare 
out in sparks and flame. The lion was aroused, and at 
times his yells were truly hideous. This was only as 
was to be expected. The friends of God were not 
alarmed at this. They knew what it usually portends. 
Payson in his own experience '^ had fought with beasts 
at Ephesus," and the lion's howl he well understood, and 
knew as in his own case, how easy it was for God to 
chain the lion, or change his ferocious nature into the 
meekness of the lamb. Unpleasant as it may be to wit- 
ness the ebullition of the heart's enmity to the truth, yet 
a minister is less discouraged by such a state of things, 
than at the apathy which is the image of spiritual death. 
He would rather witness the former than the latter. 
After the storm-cloud, look out for the rainbow. It is in 
agreement with the operations of the human mind, that 
the stormy and violent passions, should soon exhaust 
themselves, and then subside into a calm; or that the strong 
blowing of the wind in one direclion, will be succeeded 
by one equally strong from the opposite point. Sudden 
transitions from enmity to love, are seen in persons, in a 
time of revival. God often comes to the sinner's con- 
science in this way, that he may feel the force of truth, 
and be left to vent his wrath against it, whereby a re- 
action is produced, which is often overruled for the ac- 
complishment of God's gracious design in his conver- 
sion. Thus God makes " the wrath of man to praise 
Him." 

Dr. Payson was willing, if necessary, to be the instru- 
ment, or the innocent occasion (even as was our Lord) of 
causing division and opposition in the community, if such 
a state of things should subserve the purposes of God in 
the salvation of men. 



36 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

Indeed, he saw that his preaching, to be what it should 
be, could scarcely have any other effect upon the carnal 
mind than to awaken such an opposition. Although for- 
bearing and gentle to all men, where his personal inter- 
ests were concerned, yet like Paul he had sometimes to 
remonstrate with his people, in the language of that 
Apostle, " Am I become your enemy, because I tell 
you the truth," 

Persons in an awakened state of mind he diligently 
sought out and visited. On hearing that a lady of a very 
respectable family, needed his counsel and prayers, he 
waited upon her at her own house. When retiring, he 
was met by her husband, who suspecting the object of 
his visit, became exceedingly angry, and very uncere- 
moniously threatened to hoi^e-whip him, if he should 
ever come again on a similar errand. The only reply 
Dr. Pay son made, was, '' Mr. — , I can pray for you." 

And this same man, who could sacrifice his own 
self-respect to gratify his indomitable malice against reli- 
gion, was heard to say that " Payson was as great an 
enthusiast as the Apostle Paul : " in fact," said he, '' he is 
just like him." The man's heart meditated only abusive 
satire both to the Apostle and Dr. Payson, yet did his 
remarks, unintentionally, contain a compliment to both, as 
high as was in his pov\^er to pay. 

The unquestioned sincerity, manifest in his preaching, 
won the attention and hearts of his hearers. 

" Lordj how can man preach thy Eternal word ; 

He is a brittle, crazy glass ; 
Yet in thyTemple, Thou dost him afford 

This glorious and transcendent place, 

To be a loindoio^ through thy grace. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 37 

But when Thou dost anneal in glass thy story, 

Making Thy life to shine within 
The holy preacher ; then the light and glory 

More reverend grows ; and more doth win ; 

Which, else, grows wat'rish, bleak and thin. 

Doctrine and life^ colors and light in one, 

When they combine and mingle, bring 
A strong regard and awe ; but speech alone, 
Doth vanish like a flaring thing, 

And in the ear^ not conscience^ ring." 

Herbert. 

The possession of these rnost valuable qualities, viz : 
his sincerity and deep sympathy for his people while 
addressing them, vi^as, doubtless, the grand secret of his 
popularity, his great power and success as a preacher. 

The manifestation of this deep eloquence of feeling 
would almost disarm enmity itself of its virulence, in 
most cases ; arouse the indifferent to respectful attention, 
and leave upon the conscience a deep-felt conviction 
that the preacher, misguided or fanatical as they might 
suppose him to be, was at least sincere — that he believ- 
ed and felt the truths which he uttered. Remarks one, 
of a celebrated English orator, " He possesses these 
essential elements of all greatness, j90z^er/^/i convictions ; 
he is a man thoroughly in earnest. That man will do 
great things, for he believes what he speaks." 

"I seek not yours, but you," is a declaration, which, 
probably, no man since the Apostle's day, could have 
uttered with more sincerity than Dr. Payson : and his 
people read it in every lineament of his countenance, in 
every tone of his voice, in every action of his life. 

He did not preach what he but half believed. Herein 
consisted the great power which his preaching had upon 
2* 



38 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

the consciences and hearts of his hearers. They would 
sometimes quarrel and fret under his faithful rebukes, 
but church and people were compelled to acknowl- 
edge that their minister invariably sought their spiritual 
good. 

However they might doubt the disinterestedness of 
any other minister, no imputation of sinister motives 
could they, in conscience, cast upon their own. 

The effectiveness of preaching, as is plainly seen, de- 
pends very much in all cases, upon the character of the 
preacher. 

It is the holy life which gives emphasis to what is spok- 
en from the pulpit. It is not difficult to see, how much the 
eminent piety of such men as President Edwards, David 
Brainard, and Edward Payson, had to do with the great 
success which attended their labors. It is character that 
speaks. '* I could answer the arguments in 'favor of 
religion which came from the pulpit,'' said a converted 
Infidel, '^ but the principles of religion carried out in the 
life of one of my pious neighbors, I could not with 
stand — He lived me to deaths Beautiful and true in 
themselves, as are the words of our blessed Lord, yet 
had no revelation of his love and condescension, his ago- 
ny and self denial, been made in his wonderful life, his 
instructions had been less impressive ; 

" But in his life, the law appears 
Drawn out in Uving characters." 

With tkis clear insight into the character and motives of 
our pastor, we cheerfully submitted to his faithful re- 
proofs, conscious also that they were not undeserved : 
we knew that he loved us ; we gave him full credit for 
his fidelity, and could bear anything from one to whom 
we were so v/armly devoled. 



RECOLLECTION'S OF PAYSOIT. 39 

Yet there was an absence of all harshness in his man- 
ner in the pulpit. His sentences were like barbed ar- 
rows, yet pointed with love. These strongly marked 
qualities of sympathy and tenderness in his preaching, we 
dwell upon the longer, because of their vast importance, 
in the preacher who would be successful in his ministry, 
and because of the manifest want of these, in too many 
pulpit performances. » 

We hear some celebrated speaker alluded to, as pos- 
sessing great oratorical powers, carrying all before him, in 
his extraordinary popularity ; as a man of great moral 
courage, a bold reprover of the sins of the times ; yet it 
is often merely scolding by the hour. There is an ab- 
sence of that kind, tender, conciliatory spirit, which wins 
upon the heart ; it is a vociferation which is no more 
adapted to produce conviction upon the audience, or to 
soothe the perturbation of an anxious or distressed mind, 
than would the clattering of the church windows in a 
tornado. 

Such a wrought up tempest in the mind of a speaker, 
as is sometimes witnessed, resembles the '^ madness of 
the prophet,'' uttered in his reproachful language to the 
unoffending animal he rode upon. The lacerated bosom, 
and the stupid and hardened infidel alike, repel all such 
heartless efforts of the would-be faithful, fervent speaker. 
There is a discernment and a sensitiveness in the human 
mind, that detects at once the absence of those soft and 
subduing qualities in one who addresses us, by which 
alone the impenitent can be wooed or won. " I could be 
willing" said one, speaking on this subject, "for the minis- 
ter to adjudge me to hell, if he appeared to be sorry for it." 
Dr. Payson's appearance in the pulpit was always un- 
assuming in an uncommon degree. With whatever emo- 
tions of pride or self-complacency he might have had to 



40 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

struggle, arising either from his success or his fame, his 
demeanor betrayed no such inward conflict. Nor in that 
lowly deportment, did there appear the least evidence of 
the affectation of humility. 

There was with him, no counterfeited grace to conceal 
spiritual pride. Everything about him, or appertaining 
to his behavior in the pulpit, was open as day-light. Sin- 
cerity marked every movement. God is here, he seemed 
to say, — it is to His omniscient gaze, I desire to stand 
approved. 

His was the meek and quiet spirit, and so acknowledg- 
ed even by those who were of a contrary spirit, accom- 
panied by that dignity of manner, which compelled those 
who stood in his presence to confess " How awful good- 
ness is.'' No assumed airs of conscious superiority, no 
aristocracy of feeling, as are sometimes seen developing 
themselves in some popular ministers, perhaps the fruit 
of undue caresses from the people, were ever apparent 
in the subject of this memoir. A sinner, saved by grace, 
a sinner carried along in Christ's own arms to heaven, he 
loved to acknowledge himself to be. 

His entire life, in every emergency, in every act, in 
every word and feeling, betokened only such a s^pirit ; 
all God's dealings with him, were to make and keep him 
humble.* 



■^ The following anecdote published in one of our periodicals, 
I cannot forbear to insert, as it is so strikingly appropriate to Dr 
P., in the particular above mentioned. 

Ini)i.\ns Judgixg of Ministers. — Some years ago, three 
American ministers went to preach to the Cherokees. One preach- 
ed very deliberatelyand coolly, and the chiefs held a council to know 
wlicther the Great Spirit spoke to them through this man. They 
declared he did not, because he was not so much engaged as their 
head-men wre in tlieir national concerns. Another spake to them 
in a most vehement manner, and they again determined in council, 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYS ON. 41 

Although his preaching, as all acknowledged, was ex- 
ceedingly impressive, yet there was no cant about it ; no 
whining ; no crocodile tears ; although he often wept 
tears of agony for his people. 

There was no loud and boisterous declamation, as if 
he supposed power and sense to consist in sound ; no 
attempts to " split the ears of the groundlings." He was 
seen, indeed, at times, choking with deep emotion, while 
preaching, as if overwhelmed with the importance of his 
subject, yet endeavoring evidently to suppress such emo- 
tions. 

We are not saying that very good ministers do not 
sometimes weep over their sermons, while preaching 
them. We remember to have heard of a minister who, 
in order to assist his memory, and to give effect to his 
elocution, wrote upon his manuscript,^ at successive inter- 
vals, ('' cry here ;'''') a very convenient practice by the 
way, and affording an argument in favor of written ser- 
mons, which we do not remember to have seen used. 

Dr. Payson was moved by his subject, resistlessly, yet 
steadily along. No suspicion was awakened in the minds 
of his hearers, that he was ''dealing in the commerce of 
unfelt truths," or was wantonly dallying with the pas- 
sions of his hearers. Nay, it was the truth, invariably 
producing upon the minds of his audience the conviction 
of its importance, as it was simultaneously ruling in its 
mighty sway over his own mind. We saw it kindling and 
burning in his soul, and it caught upon others, until the 
whole assembly resembled a prairie on fire. 



that the Great Spirit did not speak to them lhrou<>h that man, 
because he was mad. The third preached to them in an earnest 
and fervent manner ; and they agreed that the Great Spirit might 
speak through him, because he was botli earnest and alibctionate . 

'^riu' |:i«t was ev<M- kindly received. 



42 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

As there was nothing clandestine in his outward life, 
so there was nothing of the kind in his heart, or in the 
pulpit. Nothing smuggled he there, at any time. He 
was no plagiarist. All was open, fair, legitimate. He 
made his own furrow. He was himself; profound, inde- 
pendent, original. Thoroughly drenched in the baptism 
of a devout piety, he felt it all over, to " his finger's 
ends." Not exactly in accordance with the Quaker sen- 
timent, and of course below a prophetic inspiration, yet 
he spake, and lived, as one '' moved by the Holy Ghost." 

His " zeal did indeed consume him." The entire 
devotedness to his great work, from the commencement 
of his labors, so apparent in all the sacrifices and self- 
denials which he made for his people, strengthened their 
attachment to him, and gave a power to his ministrations, 
above those of almost any oiher man. 

The graces of the Spirit, which he possessed in so em- 
inent a degree, in connexion with his rare intellectual 
endowments, (of which we shall speak hereafter,) con- 
stituted him the man he was ; the true hearted and able 
servant of Jesus Christ, 



CHAPTEE IV, 

His prayers.— His views of the importance of prayer. — He ex- 
celled in the performance of the duty — The effect of his pray- 
ers on himself — and upon the congregation. — His prayer at 
the interment of the Commanders of the Enterprise and Boxer.— 
His confessions of sin and unworthiness in his prayers — not the 
effects of nervousness or insanity— shown that they proceeded 
from a very different cause. 

" Since then, these three wait on thy throne, 
Ease, Power, and Love, I value prayer so, 

That were I to leave all but one, 
Wealth, fame, endowments, virtues; all should go ; 
I and dear prayer, would together dwell, 
And quickly gain, for each inch lost, an ell.'' 

Herbert 

Eminent as Dr, Payson was, as a man of prayer, not 
only in fervency but in frequency, yet he has been 
known to say, that had he his life to live over again, he 
should choose to spend half of it in prayer. 

That he excelled almost all others in this duty, has 
been universally acknowledged. Strangers who hav^ 
been present during devotional exercises, have been 
struck with amazement at the copiousness and fervency 
of his prayers. 



44 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

His own people, after hearing him pray a thousand 
times, were no less interested than at first. In the Con- 
ference room, and at funerals, and on all public occa- 
sions, the same originality and appropriateness were 
always apparent. 

Those only, who remember with what deep emotion he 
pronounced the line contained in one of his favorite 
hymns, 

" My soul stands trembling while she smgs," 

can have an adequate idea of the peculiar solemnity of 
his utterance in prayer. Literally, " he seemed to stand 
trembling" while in the more immediate presence of his 
Maker. Prostrated vv^ith a view of the immeasurable 
distance between God and all created beings ; and yet 
withal, possessing such an humble, childlike confidence 
in God as his Heavenly Father, he poured out the over- 
flowings of his soul into the Divine bosom ; and in lan- 
guage and manner peculiarly his own, he would confess, 
or supplicate, or render praise, in tones of the deepest 
solemnity, which tended to enkindle at the same time, 
corresponding emotions in the souls of his hearers. 

He was in the habit of pausing for a considerable 
time when the audience rose for prayer, before he com- 
menced. It could not but add to the solemnity of the 
effect, as well as afford aid to the speaker, to have that 
large congregation rise up to pray, simultaneously with 
him, that when he said "let us worship God," they so 
reverently replied, yea Lord ; '' When Thou said'st seek 
ye my face, my heart said. Thy -face. Lord, will we 
seek." That concurring aid and sympathy from the 
people, he who leads in the prayers of the sanctuary at 
the present day, is sometimes obliged to forego, when 
the audience sit still as stumps. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYS ON e 45 

The pause, just spoken of, was very solemn and im- 
pressive, implying more than words could have expressed. 
The soul was uncovering itself then ; and the feet were 
being made bare, because the place of standing was holy 
ground," and every heart in the assembly that was wont 
to bow, bowed as the heart of one man. 

Dr. P. being once inquired of, why he thus paused be- 
fore commencing prayer, and also respecting the rapid- 
ity of his utterance in prayer after he had commenced, 
which rendered it difficult for the congregation to follow 
him ; — replied, that in the one case, it was owing to the 
deep and overwhelming impression upon his mind of 
God's greatness and glory ; and in the other, that after 
commencing praying, his views of the divine attributes 
were so clear and overpowering, that he could not do 
otherwise than to proceed with a rapid utterance. He 
probably became so quickened in his conceptions and 
emotions in this exercise, that with the Psalmist he could 
say, " My soul folio weth hard after Thee." 

His prayers were, unquestionably, the most peculiarly 
striking of any of his public performances. No wonder 
that they drew forth the remark of the stranger, who 
once listened to them, '' That if some other ministers 
might pr^ac/i better, no one could jora?/ like Payson.'' 

It seemed indeed, during these exercises, that the foun- 
tains of the great '^ deep within him were broken up ; " 
as the overflowing waters suffused, with a holy bap- 
tism, the prostrate assembly. Never more distinctly to 
our view than then, was seen the insufferable splendor of 
the Eternal throne, and Him who sat thereon. . The hal- 
lelujahs of the redeemed, and the wailings of the lost, 
came in joyful or fearful echoes upon the heart, in all 
their dread reality. 



46 RECOLLECTIONS OF PATSON. 

In bis prayers there was the least possible formality, 
and yet an almost endless variety. He was not in favor, 
at least in his own practice, of the frequent introduction 
of quotations from scripture into bis prayers, wbicb is 
often a mere effort of memory,and which, for want of feel- 
ing is sometimes substituted for the aspirations of tbe heart. 
It was from no want of respect for tbe Scriptures, but 
from an apprehension, that such a practice did not fully 
answer tbe design of prayer, and would lead to a formal- 
ity in the exercise, that he did not adopt it in bis own case. 
He bad always a special errand at the throne of grace. 
He was in earnest about it, and so be prayed. Not 
merely because prayer was a duty that be must not omit, 
or that tbe time of prayer bad come, or because it was 
comely, or expected, but from an impressive sense of bis 
own and bis people's necessities, dependence and obliga- 
tions. He seemed to hear God saying " Open thy mouth 
wide, and I will fill it." 

The blessings bestowed, in anssver to his prayers, upon 
himself, his congregation, and tbe world, we can 
easily conceive must be manifold. He looked for an 
answer to bis prayers. If there was a cloud seen, he 
watched it. How much be was indebted to prayer for 
his own growth in grace, and for tbe success of his la- 
bors, is very evident. Nor is it contrary to Philosophy or 
tbe Bible, or observation, to believe, that prayer is one 
important means of increasing tbe capabilities of the 
mind, as well as of purifying the affections. Here, proba- 
bly, was one secret of bis extraordinary power — a con- 
stant intercourse with Him " in whom are bid all the 
treasures of wisdom and knowledge," wbicb could not 
fail to bring down into tbe soul, a goodly portion of the 
heavenly gifts. 



KECOLLECTIONS OE PAYSOK. 47 

If prayer is the key that unlocks the treasures of the 
Infinite mind, what an incentive is hereby presented to 
avail ourselves of this privilege. If employed to such 
advantage in Dr. Payson's case ; possessing such noble 
gifts of nature as he did, how valuable the precedent for 
others, especially for those who are preparing for the 
ministry, or newly in it, both for their own benefit, and 
that of others. We are directed not only to " covet the 
best gifts," by study and application, but to look to Him 
''from whom cometh down every good and every per- 
fect gift, " for the gift itself, and the grace which sancti- 
fieth the gift. 

Hovv may the " feeblest become as David," who seek 
for strength and wisdom from above. The true " unction 
from the Holy One," is what the minister of Christ 
specially needs. With it, comes the tact^ that helps him 
in all emergencies to be " a workman that needeth not 
to be ashamed," that makes him the wise and successful 
minister, and which constitutes much of the difference 
between one minister and another. If ever a man was 
helped of God, it was Payson. The Spirit was largely 
poured out upon him. Had he possessed but one talent, 
it would have been enlarged by grace. If so *' in that 
which is least," even in the one-talented man, so was it 
in "that which is much," in his case, — who thereby ad- 
ded to his noble portion " other ten talents." 

Some of his prayers were so peculiar in their charac- 
ter, that they have been remembered through the lapse 
of many years. Dr. Cummings mentions one offered 
on the occasion of La Fayette's expected presence at 
Dr. Payson's church, which so struck the mind of a 
lady present, that she requested of him a copy. A few 
other instances have come to our knowledge. A lady 



84 KECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSO^^ 

from ^Massachusetts related to the compiler the following 
particulars 'of a Sabbath service he performed, while on a 

visit at T , some thirty years since. It is worthy of 

mention by way of confirmation of the general opinion 
respecting his prayers. 

'• Prayers," said the lady, "had been publicly requested 
for a sick child. Dr. Pay son prayed very earnestly, and 
for a long time for the life of the child. All at once he 
stopped, and said, " O Lord we know not whether we 
are askino- for a blessino; or a curso. He then continued 
to pray that the sick child might become a child of God, 
whether living or dying. The child recovered ; although 
its subsequent history is not known. 

Writes a correspondent, '' Dr. Payson was remarkable 
for his faith and prayerfulness. At an ordination which 
he attended, he suggested the idea of spending the whole 
night before the ordination in prayer. One of the cleri- 
cal members assented to the proposal, and although the 
measure was not adopted, the suggestion indicated the 
spirit of the author."" 

He was once sent for, to preside at a meeting of a 
church in a neighboring town, called for the purpose of 
settling a difficulty among- them of long standing, and 
which had occasioned much trouble in the church. His 
remarks, and especially his appeals to the throne of 
Grace, were so earnest and simple and affecting, that 
they melted the church ;^he difficulties on both sides 
vanished, and all were at one again. He had " power 
with God and with man, and prevailed." 

His prayers offered at occasional meetings, both at 
home and abroad, are still remembered and adverted to, 
with a decrree of interest that I have never heard ex- 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 49 

pressed respecting the prayers of any other man. The 
following anecdote illustrates the remark just made. 

A Portland gentleman being in England, and in com- 
pany with an Englishman, happened to speak of the 
place where he hailed from. Portland ? Portland ? said 
the Englishman, are you from there ? Yes. Is that 
Payson alive yet ? Why, what of him ? Ah, said he, 
I was present in his church at the funeral of the com- 
m.anders of the Boxer and Enterprise, who fell in the 
engagement off Portland, in the war of 1813, and heard 
the prayer which Payson offered on the occasion. Never 
shall I forget that prayer ! 

Recall to mind the peculiar position in which Dr. P. 
was placed on the occasion ; the fact of two great nations 
still at war ; the gallant commanders, both of whom had 
fought valiantly and fell ; fresh in their death wounds, 
shrouded in their country's flags, in an American church, 
and in the presence of American citizens, and the officers 
and crews of both national vessels, with feelings of hos- 
tility still reigning in their bosoms ; in one party, the joy 
of recent triumph, in the other, the chagrin of defeat; the 
act of sepulture to be performed in accordance with the 
usages of honorable war ; a respectful regard to be 
observed for the feelings of all present, both friend and 
foe, and the whole a religious service. Under all these 
complicated and most trying circumstances, where could 
the man be found, whose mind was equal to conceive a 
prayer suited to so extraordinary an occasion ; a prayer 
that should prove acceptable to God, and to the members 
of that large, promiscuous congregation, couched in 
language, and uttered with a freedom and solemnity 
which would befit a scene so awfully solemn and impos- 
ing ; and which was remembered with the deepest inter- 



50 RECOLLECTIONS OF FAYSON. 

est by friend and foe after a lapse of forty years. Dr 
Payson was the man. He met the emergency, for he 
was equal to it. He saw the difficulty, the embarrass- 
ment, the complexity of the service he had to perform, 
and at a very short notice. He remarked that he knew 
not how he should succeed, but he must go forward, and 
leave the result with God. 

One of the most striking features of his public prayer, 
was the acknowledgment of his dependence, and great 
unworthiness. This was so apparent, that it excited the 
wonder of all, especially of strangers. Others might 
make use of similar confessions of guilt in their prayers, 
but their language seemed not to bear the same import 
as when uttered by him. There accompanied the words 
from his lips, the unmistakable evidence of the deepest 
feeling, a feeling " which hypocrites could ne'er attain."" 
He employed such confessions of sin as often surprised 
those who were present, and which sometimes awakened 
the suspicion that there must have been some obliquity in 
his life, known only to God and himself His letters 
and diary abound in the same humiliating expressions 
respecting himself ; yet his is not a singular case. The 
prayers and writings of the most eminent saints, have 
abounded in the same peculiarity. It is seen in some of 
the most striking hymns of Watts, Cowper, Newton 
and others. What deep mourning over the remains of 
an unsanctified nature, what ardent aspirations after 
sanctification, are there exhibited. From the time of 
Augustine and Calvin, down through successive ages, are 
found many examples of men eminent in learning and 
piety, who were of a kindred spirit with Payson in 
this respect. And must the peculiarity in Dr. Payson's 
prayers be accounted as foolishness, or weakness, or as 



RECOLLECTIONS OE PAYSOK. 51 

owing to a distorted view of God's character, seen 
through a false medium ? Especially, we ask, was it to 
be attributed to a deranged or diseased nervous system — > 
a state bordering on insanity ? Many, who knew not the 
man, have been very willing to assign such a cause. 
They settle the point, as they suppose, and by one 
sweeping argument — the excited state of his nerves. 
Never was an opinion more false, a suspicion more 
groundless, an insinuation more cruel. That he was 
excitable on this subject, and most tenderly alive to every 
thing that related to personal religion, we do not deny ; 
but his people never saw any mark of insanity, or ap- 
proach to it, during all the scenes of his twenty years' 
labors. In tbe view of some, wholly incompetent to 
judge in the matter, he might be said to be " beside him- 
self ; " the Apostle before him, was so misjudged, when 
pleading in his Master's defence. Blessed Saints ! ye 
are safe from the intrusion or the reproach of a mis- 
judging world. 

Wiih regard to the self-comdemning remarks he so 
often made in his prayers, it is not necessary to suppose 
him to be a notorious sinner, or a man with nerves dis- 
eased or all unstrung. Can it not be accounted for upon 
principles sound in logic, and true to Scripture ? Were 
not such views of himself, as expressed in his prayers, 
the legitimate deductions of a sound intellect, and acute 
apprehension of the requirements of the Divine law ? 
Were they not the convictions of his mind in view of his 
want of conformity to that perfect standard ? 

That it would be more gratifying to man's pride and 
self-righteousness, and a more convenient method of 
palliating or passing over his guilt, to attribute liis fail- 



52 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

ures in obedience to " natural infirmity," and thus to 
escape the condemnation of that law which takes cog- 
nizance of the least irregular desire, or emotion of the 
heart, no less than the overt transgression, cannot be 
questioned. Dr. Payson sought no such subterfuge. He 
would not have the Divine standard lowered to meet the 
selfish desires of a depraved nature ; rather he would 
adopt the sentiments of the Psalmist; — 

"And should thy sentence grow severe, 
I am condemn'd, but Thou art clear ; 
And should my soul be sent to hell, 
Thy righteous law approves it well." 

The aame posture of mind to which he would lead the 
sinner, in order to hope for his acceptance with God, he 
viewed as the most suitable place for himself; and the 
])rayer of the publican, would be his, (although safe in 
Christ,) to his dying day. No one more than he, knew 
the efficacy of a Saviour's blood ; no one preached the 
doctrine of justification by faith more freely, or with 
more distinctness than he did ; no one more than he, 
viewed himself safe under that robe which Christ had 
wrought for believers ; no one could exult more in the 
sentiment that " there is now no condemnation to them 
which are in Christ Jesus/' yet he knew, in his own 
case, that that robe covered a poor sinner, who had 
often to exclaim in view of remaining sin, '^Oh, wretched 
man that I am," or " my sin is ever before me." 

With Dr. Payson, nothing but the possession of a sin- 
cere endeavor after perfect conformity to the whole law, 
in its minutest or most extensive requirements, could 
satisfy him ; and every failure in this respect, convicted 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON, 63 

him of guilt in God's sight. This sense of guilt consti- 
tuted the burden of his soul ; why are we to wonder tha 
it was so frequently the burden of his prayers ? 

It is obvious to every experienced christian that such a 
sense of unworthiness, when felt, and humbly confessed 
* to God, by faith in the great Mediator, instead of dimin- 
ishing his usefulness or his christian joy, does only 
increase the former and heighten the latter. '* When 
Paul was a Pharisee he thought he was blameless ; when 
he was a christian, the chief of sinners ; lefore — any 
thing but Christ ; now — none but Christ.''' 

'' I glory in infirmity , 

That Christ's own power may rest on me." 

Dr. -Payson could weep over his sins and yet rejoice in 
a view of Christ through his tears. Christ was all and 
in all to him. All our past reflections upon his character 
will be a sufficient guarantee against any insinuation that 
there was anything of an antinomian spirit, either in hirs 
preaching or practice. He was no Pharisee, nor did ha 
" make Christ the minister of sin." Nor did the pos- 
session of sad views of unworthiness, have the least 
unhealthy practical tendency, but tlie reverse. " Cast 
down, but not destroyed.'" His vileness in his own sight, 
did not shake his hope. " Just as 1 am, I come to thee," 
governed him in his personal experience, and that lan- 
guage contained the principle he adopted in all his 
addresses to the impenitent, or the awakened backslider. 
We are brought by the fairest inference to believe that 
he must have instituted for himself a higher standard or 
judgment, and that he had clearer views of the holiness 
of God, and of the moral distance between him and hi 
3 ' 



54 RECOLLECTIONS OF FAVSON. 

Creator, than most others. Possessing such views, he 
could not but see himself to be exceedingly sinful. His 
prayers could not but be in accordance with such views. 
None but the truly penitent can offer the prayer of pen- 
itence. He only who has a sense of his delinquencies 
can be a penitent. He only who is of a humble and 
coQtrite spirit, and desires to be pure in heart, and who 
feels his slow and imperfect advances towards such a 
state, will understand why Dr. Payson prayed as he did ; 
and all such will find in Dr. Pa,yson's experience a coun- 
terpart to their own, to his prayers a response in their 
own bosom ; and we believe that in God's judgment, the 
prayers of such will never be attributed to insanity or 
nervousness, and not more in Dr. Payson's case than in 
theirs. It is not every one who in his spiritual experi- 
ence is compelled to cry out w^ith the Psalmist " Deep 
calleth unto deep, all thy waves and billows are gone 
over me ; " and none but such can judge rightly of Dr. 
Payson's case. ; 

It is said, he once remarked to another, while suffering 
some signal spiritual encounter with the powers of dark- 
ness, that he had " experienced the agonies of crucifix- 
ion." This expression w^ould doubtless seem extravagant 
and hyperbolical to a christian of but ordinary tempta- 
tions ; but few could understand it. Dr. Payson's ex- 
perience was of no ordinary- kind ; trials like his, but 
few have had to endure. Probably, since the days of 
Job, two more signal marks have not been set up for the 
fiery darts of the great "accuser of the brethren," than Lu- 
ther and Payson : perhaps we may except John Bunyan. 
Hard pressures from God's hand ; deep arrows with coals 



KECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 55 

of juniper " from Satan's malice, and the remarkable 
Divine support under them, or deliverance from them, 
have all combined to constitute these deeply marked 
christian characters. 



CHAPTER V. 

His manner of reading the psalm or hymn. — Description of the 
effect produced upon the hearers. — General remarks upon the 
importance of this part of divine service, as a means of grace. — 
Description of a scene in Kev. Dr. Spencer's conference-room, 
by way of illustration. 

In the performance of this part of the pulpit service, 
Dr. Payson so eminently excelled, that we deem it wor- 
thy of special notice. Speak to any of his old hearers 
on this subject, even at this day, and the most vivid 
reminiscences are awakened. The emotions of that 
hour when they hung upon their pastor's lips, come up 
again in all their freshness. Advert to some particular 
hymn he used to read, and they exclaim " O, how he 
would read that hymn ; we shall never forget it, while 
we can remember any thing." 

There were some hymns, which owing to their pecu- 
liarly elevated character, either in style or sentiment, he 
read more frequently than others. These he pronounced 
with surprising effect. 

" Belknap's Collection " w^as then used in his congre- 
gation, and there were some choice hymns in it, by Mrs^ 
Steele, Dr. Doddridge and others. They who attended 
upon his early ministry scarcely need to be reminded of 
them. 



EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 57 

We hope the general reader will pardon us, if for the 
gratification of Dr. Payson's personal friends we refer to 
a few of them. One of them is the 4th hymn in Wor- 
cester's selection. 

" Keep silence all created things, 

And wait your Maker's nod ) 
My soul stands trembling, while she sings 

The honors of her God," 

The sentiments of every line were justly conceived 
by Dr. Payson, and uttered with corresponding emotions. 
Pie threw a meaning into the language that we but im- 
perfectly perceived or understood until they fell from 
his lips. When he described any thing, you more than 
saw, you felt it too. 

In personating Shakspeare's characters, Garrick might 
have displayed superior art or power ; but that sense of 
the Divine Presence, and deep prostration of spirit, which 
Payson possessed, would be lacking in the great trage- 
dian. With all his mimic art, should he attempt to read 
a hymn for public worship, he would entirely fail to pro- 
duce that impression which he alone produces, who feels 
his subject, as Dr. Payson did. 

Mere human passions, the most hidden and powerful 
of the heart, can be portrayed by the magic pen of the 
adroit novelist, and exhibited to great perfection by one 
who has been trained to represent human character upon 
the stage. Into all man's mere natural feelings, he can 
enter and be at home in portraying them, but the guise 
could not fail to be detected, were he to attempt to " show 
off" such emotions as have been sublimated in a heart 
touched by the grace of God. Some part of Whitefield's 



58 KECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

peculiarly impressive manner, it is said, Garrick could 
successfully imitate ; but there was the eloquence of 
sound feeling in the preacher, which the highest effort of 
the histrionic art could never counterfeit. The Apostle 
explains the enigma : — '' For the natural man receiveth 
not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know 
them, because they are spiritually discerned ; " or as 
the poet has it, 

*' The devils fear and tremble too, 
But satan cannot love." 

Could the author of the hymn himself have listened to 
the stanza we just now quoted, as usually read by Dr. 
Payson, he would have been surprised at the fulness of 
meaning, and the impressiveness of his own language. 
We seem to see, at this moment, the man of God, as he 
stood up before the assembly pronouncing the hymn ; his 
own mind entirely absorbed with its inspiring sentiments, 
while he seemed literally *' to stand trembling," espec- 
ially when repeating the third line. His voice in sweet 
symphony with the sublimity of the song, and his soul 
elevated to the highest pitch of devotion ; an involuntary 
shuddering came over us, while listening to one who 
seemed in the presence of the splendor of the eternal 
throne. The same thrilling effect pervaded the reading 
of the entire hymn, with but little abatement to the close. 
Another hymn which he often read, was that com- 
mencing with the lines, 

" Eternal Power, whose high abode, 
Becomes the grandeur of a God." 

Here, too, he seemed caught up to the third heavens, 
himself, and his hearers with him. 



EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 59 

The hymn contemplates the infinite greatness of Jeho- 
vah, while the speaker, himself, absorbed in the grandeur 
of the theme, seemed to shrink into his own nothingness, 
a worm, in the presence of Infinite Majesty. The audi- 
ence were often completely electrified by his thrilling 
tones. It is remarkable, that at every repetition of the 
hymn, the same effect was invariably produced. The 
climax was complete when he concluded the hymn with 
the following stanza : 

" God is in heaven, and men below, 
Be short our hymns, our words be few ; 
A solemn reverence checks our songs. 
And praisels silent on our tongues." 

The Lord God appeared on a " throne, high and lifted 
up.'' You saw that he felt the disparity between all 
created beings and Him who was the occupant of that 
throne. Intuitively he seemed to feel, " Be short our 
hymns, our words be few," as if a prolongation of the 
exercise were little short of blasphemy, and that in per- 
forming it, he had only been '-'- darkening counsel.'' A 
*' solemn reverence " checked the song, as the words 
dropped tremblingly from his lips, bespeaking the senti- 
ment that it were almost presumptuous for a vile worm 
to attempt the Great Creator's praise, as he pronounced 
the closing line, 

" And praise is silent on our tongues," 

While thus with solemn cadence, and in tones of 
subdued emotion, scarcely audible, he himself seemed 
impressed with reverential awe, the whole prostrate 
congregation in deep sympathy with the pastor, were 



60 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

called to witness a scene of such intense interest, as is 
seldom presented to an assembly of mortals. It was 
then " holy ground," if any spot on earth could be. The 
wonder is, that after such an impression had been made 
upon the congregation, those who had been appointed 
to lead the song, could have sufficiently recovered them- 
selves from their electrified embarrassment, to com- 
mence their work. The solemn stillness of the moment 
seemed to suggest that it was more beiitting that human 
voices should be hushed, and that the spontaneous wish 
of every heart would be in sympathy with that beautiful 
and appropriate line of the poet, 

*' Come, then, expressive silence, muse His praise." 

The value of time, even of a moment, never seemed 
so important ; the v/orth of the soul and the danger of 
neglecting its salvation was never more deeply felt, than 
when he repeated the hymn of Doddridge, 

*' O time, how few thy value weigh, 
How few will estimate a day; 
Days, months and years are rolling on, 
The soul neglected and undone." 

The hymn is a sermon of itself, when read by any one ; 
but as repeated by him, it came down with most fearful 
emphasis upon the conscience of the neglecter of his 
soul ; and a most stirring appeal it was to the christian 
who is called upon to work while the day lasts. 

These instances are but specimens. An interest some- 
what similar was awakened when he repeated any piece 
of devotional poetry. 



FwECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 61 

We will mention one other hymn, which in its portray- 
al of the heavenly rest, seemed to picture out his grand 
idea of heaven upon earth — the Sabbath and its wor- 
ship. It is one of Doddridge's. 

"Thine earthly Sabbath Lord, we love ; 
But there's a nobler rest above." 

Heaven did indeed shine in his holy countenance, while 
he seemed filled to overflowing with the bright vision of 
anticipated glory, as he closed with the following : 

" No more fatigue, no more distress, 
Nor death, nor sin. shall reach the place, 
No groans shall mingle with the songs 
That warble from immortal tongues." 

With all his deep experience of the soul struggling with 
sin, and encumbered with the ills of mortality, coupled 
with his strong faith, and in the anticipation of his "bright 
reversion in the skies," it is easy to see how he would 
enter into the spirit of these lines, and with what wonder- 
ful effect he would pronounce them. He made us to see 
the halo of glory encompassing the rest of heaven, and 
which reflected its light and love upon the Sabbath rest 
which we were so imperfectly celebrating, and which, 
though but a type, often proved to us a precious and 
striking emblem of the heavenly rest. But few have 
made a Sabbath and its privileges tell more emphatically 
upon spiritual enjoyment than did Dr. Payson, both by 
his prayers and preaching ; and the part of divine ser- 
vice to which we refer had its full yharc in producing this 

happy result. 

3* 



62 HECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

AVith respect to the effect which his manner of read- 
ing the hymn had upon the minds of his audience we 
may adduce the following anecdote. 

Said the Rev. Mr. T., a respectable minister of Maine, 
" The first time I ever heard Dr. Payson was at New- 
bury port, in Dr. Spring's Church. I was then but seven 
years old, yet I never shall forget how his reading the 
hymn affected me. f remember the hymn. It was that 
commencing as follows: 

" Praise, everlasting praise be paid 
To Him, who earth's foundations laid." 

1 then neither knew nor cared anything about religion, 
but after the lapse of thirty years, the impression which 
the reading of the hymn produced, is as distinct on my 
mind as ever." Flere is another instance, corroborative 
of the fact — and no less as being the testimony of a 
child — that not only " no m3.n prayed like Payson," but 
that seldom was one found who could read a hymn with 
equal effect. Nor was there anything in this perform- 
ance that appeared studied or artificial, although he 
possessed a voice of great power and richness of intona- 
tion, remarkably well adapted to an effective utterance. 
The grand secret of his power lay in the depth of feel- 
ing, which gave to the various sentiments of the hymn, 
an emphasis and a significancy peculiarly his ov/n. It 
was the naturalness of a heart-utterance. The senti- 
ments of moral beauty or sublimity, contained in the 
hymn, he transfused into the minds of his audience. 
The eye, the voice, the emotions of the speaker portrayed 
upon the minds of his hearers, the picture, living and 
fresh from his own conceptions. It is there to this day. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON, 63 

Although the primary, perhaps the most prominent use 
of church psalmody, is to awaken and elevate devotional 
feeling, we think that this is not its exclusive design or 
result. The act of reading the hymn, as well as the 
singing of it, may subserve the object for which the gen- 
eral performance is introduced in our congregations, and 
may prove as effectual a means of grace as the same 
amount of truth would be, conveyed to the minds of the 
audience by any other method. Examples abound, 
where the reading of the hymn has been the means of 
producing conviction, or allaying mental anguish, and of 
affording spiritual comfort to the desponding believer. 

The advantage which poetry has over prose, in produc- 
ing an impression, and a more abiding impression, is 
universally acknowledged. Accompanied by music, its 
power is doubtless increased ; yet we believe that the 
effect so frequently produced upon the sensibilities bv 
some national air or popular ballad, or by the soul-inspir- 
ing melody of the sea-song, which gives animation to the 
sailor as he heaves at the windlass, or which beguiles the 
long, lone months of the foreign voyage, arises generally 
from the sentiment of the song, rather than the mere 
modulation of sounds which accompanies them. Nor is 
the effect produced by certain popular and stirrino; melo- 
dies used in the more private meetings of some denomi- 
nations of christians, to be ascribed wholly to the music, 
but in considerable part to the simple, yet beautiful and 
evangelic thoughts which they contain. The bare pro- 
nouncing of some hymns often produces a similar effect. 
The following incident is in point, and illustrates our 
views as it respects the reading of the hymn. 

Dr. Spencer of Brooklyn, New York, relates the fol- 
lowing in his sketches recently published. 



64 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

" A yoang lady under conviction of sin, being present 
at one of his conference meetings, the Paster read the 
hymn of Dr. Watts, closing with the following stanza : 

*' A guilty, weak and helpless worm, 
On thy kind arm I fall. 
Be Thou my strength and righteousness, 
My Jesus and my all ! " 

After meeting, said she to the pastor, *' I sat all the 
time looking at that hymn, and I have been thinking of 
it ever since. I did not hear a word of your prayer or 
sermon. I do not know your text, I thought of nothing 
but that hymn.''* I left her, says Dr. Spencer, to the di- 
rection of the Holy Spirit, and the truth of that hymn^ 
It was probably, the means of her conversion. 

In connection with the foregoing, we beg leave to add 
a kw remarks, touching a kindred subject. 

It is well known that psalms and hymns, partaking of 
a didactic, or doctrinal character, or relating to christian 
experience, are sometimes objected to, as being unsuita- 
ble for public worship. In some of the collections of 
church Psalmody, used at the present day, the minister 
looks for many of those good old fashioned psalms and 
hymns, which relate to the doctrine of original sin, and 
innate depravity ; God's anger against the wicked, and 
other kindred subjects. The reason adduced for this 
omission, on the part of the compilers of psalmody, we 
believe to be that such hymns are not suitable to be sung 
in public worship. It is their opinion, merely ; we think, 
an erroneous one. We hope the objection does not arise 
from the peculiar character of the sentime7its contained 
in them. Upon many minds, the effect produced by the 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 6^ 

singing of those solennn truths, is invariably good. That 
such hymns should be excluded, or so seldom selected 
to be read from the pulpit, is a matter of surprise and 
regret. If poetry, especially sacred poetry, is a medi- 
um through which truth may be successfully conveyed 
to the mind, we are at a loss to understand why the 
omission just alluded to, should so extensively prevail. 
We know not where to look for the authority by which 
such a course has been adopted ; nor can we discover 
the good taste, which has so uncerimoniously mutilated 
such hymns, and in some cases slighted them altogether. 
We have the same fault to find with the modern practice 
of rejecting tunes of the minor key, in public worship. 

"There are always in a christian assembly, those who 
have come up to the house of God, with hearts saddened 
by grief; and it is true now, as in Solomon's day, that 
" As vinegar upon nitre, so is he who singeth 507z^5 to an 
heavy heart." The plaintive air, is sure to meet the 
sympathies of such hearts ; to soothe " the sorrowful 
soul," to comfort God's people is, certainly, a part of the 
design of church music, and, as we think, such a style 
better answers that object, than any approach to the evil 
foretold by the prophet, that " the songs of the temple, 
shall become hoivlings in those days." 

The minister too, becomes very sensitive on this sub- 
ject, and justly so. He is often compelled to witness the 
sad discrepancy between the tune, and his subject^ 
together with the manner in which the tune is sometimes 
sung. The desired result of his prayers and preaching 
is not only not realized, but entirely defeated. His audi- 
ence feels it, (Hid he feels it more than they. He is 
sometimes unfitted to proceed in his work, because of 



66 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

the ignorance, or carelessness, or want of taste, in those 
■ who select the tune. Hence, what was intended to be a 
means of grace, a help to the minister, and to the devo- 
tions of the congregation, has passed off for what is 
worse than nothinor. The subject, is certainly, worthy 
of attention by all who are in any way connected with 
this department of public worship. 

The psalmody in present use, having among its con- 
tributors such men as Watts, and Doddridge, and Newton 
and Cowper, is a rich legacy to the church. Their mem- 
ory must always be precious in the department of lyric 
poetry. In it, is embodied, the soundest divinity, and in 
it is depicted every form and shade of religious experi- 
ence ; affording to the Christian, the sunshine of joy, 
sympathy and hope, under the darkest cloud ; in tempta- 
tion's dangerous hour, the rescue. 

If such hymns are found useful in the parlor and in 
the closet, so will they be in the house of God. As Dr. 
Payson employed it, it became in his hands a powerful 
influence for good. As in his case, so in all other in- 
stances the people may see that the author and the reader 
of the hymn mean something ; and much depends upon 
the manner it is enunciated. 

And if we might be allowed to say one word to those 
who lead the song, allow us to say, that knowing as they 
do their power, to increase the effect of public worship, 
they should take pains to compass so desirable an object. 

We remember to have listened to the performance 
of a small, yet very select and scientific choir, in sing- 
ing a hymn of Dr. Watts; and no preaching we ever 
heard, has produced a more overpowering and subduing 
effect. It was the hymn, commencing with, 
<< Life is the time to serve the Lord." 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYS ON. 

We never heard the " ruin and despair'' of the lost 
sinner more feelingly described, or had it more clearly 
depicted upon our own mind ; or the necessity of " seiz- 
ing the promise, while it waits ; " or when, in notes of 
solemn intonation, and as if they themselves were view- 
ing the awful scene described in the hymn, with " hell 
uncovered" before them, they sang the closing lines, 

" But darkness, death and long despair, 
Reign in eternal silence there." 

Singers might become preachers if they would ; if 
they knew their power, and used it with taste and judg- 
ment, accompanied with deep feeling. 

The effect which the hym.n, sung at the conclusion 
of the communion service, has upon the assembly is 
often adverted to, as being exceedingly solemn ; an effect 
probably produced by the union of the excellent vseoti- 
ments of the hymn, the character of the performers, and 
the peculiar interest of the occasion. 



CHAPTER VI. 

His effectiveness as a Preacher, — His respect for the Ministerial 
office. — His respect for his people. — His self-respect. — Refer- 
ence to contemporary preachers 

Highly and justly as his qualities as a preacher have 
been extolled, we confess we have never heard them 
overrated. 

If we felt our incompetency to present an accurate 
idea of the pulpit power of Dr. Payson, when we were 
listening to his living eloquence as it lingered yet fresh 
and vivid upon our memory amid those precious " Sab- 
bath-scenes ; " the difficulty must be increased, now that 
that tongue is silent in death, and the lapse of more than 
thirty years has served in a measure to dim those im- 
pressions. 

His constant hearers, who are to be considered the 
only competent judges in this matter, have never been 
willing, neither then nor now, to admit, that he had any 
equal as a preacher. We say then nor now, for we have 
not yet found the man, who ha.d once listened to him 
who refuses to join in this general acknowledgment. 
In this opinion they are unanimous and immovable. No 
lapse of time ; no change of circumstances ; no subse 
quent acquaintance with other preachers, has led them 
to change their views in this respect. And this they say, 
with no disrespect to, or any disparagement of, his most 
worthy contemporaries or successors in the ministry. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON, 69 

Nor was it a small gratification to ns, that strangers 
who occasionally heard him v/ere seized with the same 
conviction, that had settled upon our own minds. This 
fact, made us more strong and secure in our cherished 
partialities. It was an endorsement and a testimony 
which did but augment our confidence in the correctness 
of our judgment. 

And yet it is with reluctance that we offer our opinion 
on this particular subject. His friends have not escaped 
reproach for having done so ; yet the incredulity of many 
of the present generation, compels us even '' to glory in 
men ; " not so much on his account, as to bring the bur- 
den of proof to bear lionestly and legitimately upon the 
subject ; in a word, to maintain and defend our position ^ 
against the incredulous. 

We proceed to remark, first, that there was an absence 
of all levity in Dr. Payson's manner in the pulpit. No 
smile, or approach to it, was ever seen on his countenance 
while there, nor do we remember of his ever having 
provoked a smile upon the countenances of his hearers. 
There was no tediousness or satiety experienced by those 
who listened to him, however prolonged might be the ex- 
ercises, and down to the last Sabbath-day's services of 
his life. Christians left the house of God, still hungering 
for the bread of life. 

It is true that the impenitent felt the ofFensiveness of 
his doctrines, and the mighty power of his appeals, yet 
would they come again and again, that they might open 
their bosoms, to the mysteriously fascinating, though un- 
welcome and hated truths. 

Invariably would the countenances of the retiring 
congregation evince the deep emotions which his dis- 
course had awakened. 



70 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

We seem even now to hear the exclamation, as we 
used to hear it, as his people came from the church, from 
one and another, '' was there ever such a preacher be- 
fore : surely this is the most wonderful sermon yet." 

We are not able to state what preparation he made 
for his extempore discourses. They were probably, 
well studied, for he invariably appeared to be master of 
his subject, let the occiision be what it might. Every- 
thing needful for the occasion, was perfectly under his 
control ; matter, voice, language, logic and imagination. 

We could not discover that he had any notes whatever 
before him. He read his text from the pulpit-bible, which 
remained open before him, at which, he would occasion- 
ally direct his eye, either mechanically or for conveni- 
ence, to recollect his next topic of remark, or possibly 
to catch a glimpse of the paper that might lie before 
him. Then was the fiamie of his eloquence re-kindled, 
and his whole soul under its mighty influence would 
beam forth with indescribable solemnity, to irradiate, 
to melt and to captivate his enraptured audience. We 
repeat, that the intense interest which he awakened, 
never flagged, from the commencement to the close of 
his discourse : his pulpit services often went on with an 
increasing power to the last, forming a well adjusted, 
well-balanced climax. 

He never made shipwreck, or grounded even. His 
sails never seemed to lose their wind, nor the helm its 
controlling power. The breeze was always propitious, 
so far as we could judge. True he has recorded in his 
diary, what he might suppose a defeat or discomfiture in 
the pulpit, but his hearers were never aware of such a 
thins. 



CHAPTER Vri. 

Dr. Payso^'s mental powers and resources. — Literary habits. — 
His great popularity as a preacher sometimes disputed. — De- 
fence. — The cordial reception he met with on his journeys. — 
The opinion of judicious men with regard to his talents. — In 
what his intellectual pre-eminence consisted. — The extraordi- 
nary influence accompanying his religious performances. 

We feel our incompetency to give a perfect descrip- 
tion of the capacity and furniture of Dr. Payson's mind. 
It was of great amplitude and depth, and richly fur- 
nished. 

As one, who stands upon the shore of an immense 
ocean, may admire what his limited vision can discern, 
although he must leave unexplored that portion which 
lies beyond it, so we may contemplate a portion of his 
noble mind, although much will remain undiscovered, 
unfathomed and untold. 

We do not expect to impart to those of our readers, 
who were not personally acquainted with Dr. Payson, the 
same impression of his excellencies as lies upon our own 
mind, nor do we expect fully to be understood by them 
when we make the attempt. Other eyes cannot see with 
ours, nor can they who have never heard him, judge as 
we judge ; nor will any representations we can make 
give that impression, which could only be received while 



72 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

sitting under the magic power of his eloquence. All tell 
you this. The spectator of some grand object in nature, 
such, for example, as the falls of Niagara, is impressed 
with an idea of its grandeur, which he shall be unable to 
convey to those who have not witnessed it ; yet may he 
be fully accredited for the truthfulness of the description. 
We ask only the same indulgence from those who are 
unacquainted with Dr. Payson. Although we fail to give 
them an impression as vivid as our own, yet, may we 
also be accredited for the sincerity of our opinion, and 
the truthfulness of our representation, as being in accord- 
ance with our own convictions. 

" Error," remarks one, " is a snake that needs much 
killing." We add, prejudice is a tortoise that lives after 
its head is cut off. 

The remark is very general, that Dr. Payson's popu- 
larity and success, as a preacher, are to be chiefly 
attributed to his uncommon piety, and the solemnity of 
his pulpit manner. We do not blush for Dr. P.'s piety, 
nor hesitate to admit that the grace of God did exceed- 
ingly heighten and improve all his other ministerial gifts ; 
and that piety in any preacher, is absolutely essential ; 
yet if the remark under consideration is intended to 
convey an insinuation, that, superadded to an ardent 
piety. Dr. Payson did not possess intellectual powers of 
a very high order, the remark is deserving of the most 
unqualified condemnation. It must have arisen either 
from prejudice, envy, or ignorance. In compassion for 
the frailty of our common nature, we choose to attribute 
it to the latter. 

No one could have listened to him during the delivery 
of a single sermon, without being impressed with the 
conviction, that he had been listening, not only to a good, 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOJST. 7d 

but to a great man. A single discourse or prayer, told 
unmistakably the story of his vast pulpit power ; and 
there can be no true pulpit power, where there is not 
something in the mind of the speaker for its basis and 
support. Mere voice or sound, or a solemn demeanor is 
not sufficient. His constant hearers were immovable in 
their convictions of the truth of our position, and among 
them, men in the several learned professions, of clear and 
sound judgment. Strangers of high distinction, who 
occasionally heard him, went away, more than satisfied 
with the report of his fame. It is in a subsequent gene- 
ration, that those are found, who, never - having heard 
him, are strangely incredulous in this matter. 

The question has been put to us, " In what did the 
greatness of Dr. Payson's mind consist ? Or in what 
respect was he a great man ? We saw that the question 
was captious, the offspring of suspicion or unbelief. To 
give an ofF-hand reply, such as to satisfy our own mmd 
or the mind of the inquirer, would he difficult. The 
present volume, we hope, will answ^er the question satis- 
factorily. 

In considering the question of his intellectual ability, 
we have no other motive than to testify to the truth in 
the case. When a man's character is brought before the 
public, they expect more than a one-sided view of it ; 
and certainly they ought not to be put off, with a false 
view of it. His piety shone brightly indeed ; this speaks 
well for his heart. A giant-power of intellect accom- 
panied and directed it, giving it a character and influence 
of no ordinary kind, seen and acknowledged by all fair 
and competent judges. An English clergyman said to 
the compiler '' we in England think very highly of Dr. 
Pays on." 



74 KBCOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

He was remarkable for a vivid and well-trained imagi- 
nation. He originated in his own mind, or caught from 
external objects, with great facility, whatever images 
were needed to illustrate his subject. Especially was 
this the case in his extemporaneous effusions. He com- 
bined and arranged, and applied with wonderful clearness 
all his elements of illustration, drawn from nature, from 
history and biography, or from the well-springs of his 
own mind. 

His own feelings would be set on fire by the very 
conceptions themselves, in the process of elaboration, 
and springing fresh from his mind, would blaze out upon 
his hearers in a sheet of flame. There seemed to be no 
exhausting of his mental resources. Every occasion 
and topic would lend new inspiration to his genius. 

In describing human character, especially the opera 
tions of the heart, or what related to religious experience, 
he had not to draw from the observation or experience 
of others, as is the practice of many, although for vari- 
ety of illustration he would sometimes quote the sayings 
of his favorite authors. Bunyan, Newton, Brainard, and 
others, eminent for their spiritual trials and conflicts. 
He had only to dip his pencil in his own lacerated bo- 
som, in its sad and dreadful workings, under the sorrows 
of the present hour, or musing upon the memories of the 
past, and, as it were, to spread upon the canvass with his 
own heart's blood, the dark shade of the souPs deepest 
night ; or regaining, the smiles of God's reconciled coun- 
tenance, to portray the sun-light of revived hope in 
flushing beauty, in happy and striking contrast. 

The amplitude and brilliancy of his genius were more 
conspicuous in his extemporaneous productions. The 
printed volume, fiom which the judgment of the public 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOM. 75 

\ 

has been formed, on this subject, does not tell the whole 
truth in this respect. To~ judge aright of his complete 
intellectual stature, it is necessary to behold a full-length 
portrait of him ; and such a view could be obtained only 
when listening to him as an extempore speaker. The 
sermons which he merely read from the pulpit, although 
specimens of no ordinary talent, did not exhibit his full 
power. 

The world did not know Dr. Payson. It knew not of 
his vast int(3llectual resources, yet unexplored or unde- 
veloped. His natural modesty, and reserve, concealed 
much of what lay hidden from the public eye. He told 
not all he felt ; he made no parade of what he knew. 
'^ There is a way which the vulture's eye hath not seen.^* 
Although such frequent calls were made upon his mental 
resources, and however ample the expenditure during a 
ministry of twenty years, yet there were, doubtless, in a 
mind of such originality and extent, veins of intellectual 
gold which had not yet been struck upon. 

In making our estimate of the capacity of Dr. Pay- 
son's mind, we do not by any means intend to slight, or 
undervalue the criterion atTorded us in his published writ- 
ings. In his volumes of sermons, and especially, in his 
'^ Thoughts," and others of his printed works, there is 
not only no lack of proof of a great and original mind, 
but the most conclusive evidence of it. We open 
a volume of his sermons now, and we are carried back 
to the place and to the hour when w^e first listened to 
them. His heart, which we saw bleeding at every pore, 
when he spoke to us, and prayed with us, from Sabbath 
to Sabbath, and from house to house, we now seem to 
see in his published discourses, laid open afresh, as it 
were, and in its quivering and undying throbs. All of 



76 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOX. 

the man and of the affectionate pastor, is still exhibited 

there. 

There was not only truth, of vast weight and import- 
ance, in his written sermons, but it was presented in ac- 
curate and logical arrangement, with fine taste, and deep 
eloquence of thought and expression. Impartial and able 
judges, who are acquainted with his writings, concur in 
this opinion. 

Not less did the same qualities, in matter and style, 
abound in his extemporaneous effusions. It is in the 
power of but few men, to speak with that conciseness, 
order, and precision, with which he did in his unwritten 
pulpit performances. This fact affords another proof of 
great and uncommon talent ; an evidence, not only of a 
full and capacious mind, but of a mind in which every 
power was well disciplined, and ready for use. Thus it 
was that the fair copy which had flowed from his pen by 
a course of elaboraiien in his study, left the mould un- 
disturbed and entire, prepared to present another copy 
when occasion should require it, unincumbered with 
written characters. He adopted this course of preaching, 
alternately, written and unwritten sermons, that he might 
become at once a ready speaker, and a correct speaker ; 
both methods yielding mutual aid to each other in form- 
ing the character of an efficient and profitable speaker. 
He would bring circumstance and logic, love to souls, 
and the -' powers of the world to come,'' with all the 
ornament and armament of a well-stored and well-disci- 
plined mind, to bear upon the conscience and heart of 
his hearers. 

If his written sermons were the hea^y ordnance, his 
extemporary effusions were the flying artillery, that 
swiftly and surely carried consternation and death into 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 77 

the ranks of the enemy. Of this latter description were 
his sermons on the Sabbath morning, and his Thursday- 
evening lectures. 

DR. PAYSON's interior LIFE. 

To give a full and accurate description of this, is be- 
yond the limits of our power. It is a " fountain sealed," 
which forbids every intrusive approach. To delineate 
his intellectual powers is a v/ork sufficiently difficult ; to 
enter his soql's chambers of imagery, to survey and 
measure the glowing pictures of his fancy, there created, 
is even more difficult. This, however, we may do and 
admire :- — admire the genius and the grace combined, 
which brought forth from the treasures of his heart, not 
only " good things," but great things, happily inter- 
mingled, reflecting their light upon each other, and 
throwing a charm over every subject that employed his 
lips or his pen. But it is more difficult still, if not sacri- 
legious, to enter within the domain of spiritual emotion 
and examine the hidden sources of his heart's joys and 
sorrows. That sacred enclosure was GocPs room^ the 
place of his manifested presence and glory. There he 
held sweet intercourse with his Savior. 

In the recesses of his heart there were struggles as 
well as victories of no common kind. We saw the up- 
heavings of the ocean in the outer life, of which we may 
speak ; we beheld only its surface, the color of its 
waters, the crest upon its billows, or the spray of the 
broken wave ; but of the hidden springs far below the 
surface, as we said, how shall we venture to speak ? The 
record which he himself has made of the alternations of 
hope and fear, doubtless was not intended for the public 
4 



78 RECOLLECTIOxNs OF PAYSON. 

gaze ; and yet, with good judgment, from the purest mo- 
tives, and for the spiritual benefit of others, as well as to 
magnify the grace of God, they have been recorded upon 
the printed page. Of this we shall speak more at length 
elsewhere. 

At this remote period, iind distinctly before our minds, 
are vividly pictured the scenes of the happy years, which 
we enjoyed under his ministry. Time has not obliterated > 
but rather given distinctness to the impression. 

They come to us, sometimes, as a beautiful dream of 
the night ; yea, not unfrequently are we listening to our 
pastor's pathetic appeals. While our senses are locked 
in slumber, the soul is in the enjoyment of the beauteous 
and unforgotten realities of those days ; the heart feels 
as then, the subduing eloquence, and memory reverts to 
the past, bringing back those seasons of delightful inter- 
est, in which we are privileged to participate afresh. 
Nor do we think it is forbidden us, while we prize so 
highly all that we may of present religious enjoyment, 
and whatever we can by anticipation of the future, relat- 
ing to the life that now is, or that which is to come, to 
recall the sacred seasons afforded us, during the ministry 
of a beloved pastor. Why may it not be true, that 
such an exercise will constitute a part of the happiness 
of heaven ? 

The subjects of such recollections, were once living 
realities, and the impressions left upon the mind, are in 
such deep and fadeless colors, that the soul will bear 
them onward with it into eternity. 

Of Payson, it may truly be said, and in the best sense, 
hat he spoke and wrote for immortality. His entire 
niinistry was of that deeply marked character, that it 
cannot be forgotten by those who sat under it. It my^t 



RECOLLECTIONS OE PAYSON, 79 

haunt the sinner who has received no benefit from it, 
with painful forebodings ; while every recollection will 
renew the joys of that christian heart, which so often 
vibrated under its powerful and melting appeals. 

If, in thus expressing our views of this man of God 
and his ministry, we were alone in our opinion, we 
might suppose, and others might, that some strange spell 
was upon us, and that we had been heaping metaphor upon 
metaphor, and adding extravagance to enthusiasm, in 
order to tantalize, or to provoke those of the present 
generation, who have had no personal acquaintance with 
him ; but we are happy to be able to introduce to the 
notice of our readers, a correspondent who knew him 
well, and whom they shall be permitted to hear in the 
following extract of a letter recently received. 

" 1 have a strong impression of his power as a preacher, 
especially in preaching Christ and the Gospel so natur- 
ally, and with such vividness as to burn upon the mind, 
even of an uninterested and youthful hearer, the great 
truths of redemption, beyond any man I have ever heard ; 
and I find as I advance in years, and early impressions 
come out more distinctly, an increasing evidence, how 
much he shaped and moulded my opinions of truth, even 
while I sat unconscious of his influence, but a child in 
his congregation. One influence I feel deeply, painfully, 
often, in the dissatisfaction, with which I measure my 
attempts to exhibit the Gospel, with what I know Payson 
accomplished ; with what I feel he used to exhibit to my 
mind. The impression is there yet. You have heard 
him. and can understand ?ne^ hut I cannot dtscrile it to 
another ! 

"You felt when sitting under his preaching, or in his 
conference-room, or by his dying bed, that the truth 



80 RECOLLECTIOXS OF FAYSON. 

beamed from heaven upon his mind, and thence reflected 
upon your oio?i. There was no artifice of rhetoric, no 
trick of oratory. He was a revealer of what he had 
seen, as Paul, when caught up to the third heavens. 
Hence, he spake with authority, and his words fell on 
the startled conscience as the word of God. I must 
again appeal to those %oho heard him^ to appreciate the 
truth of my position. I ihink they will understand me. 
I would, there were some one, who could draw out the 
picture and color it to the life. I confess my own inahih 
ity to do it. And yet, while I write, I find my heart 
going back to those early scenes, and distinctly I seem 
to see the man of God standing up, more as a seer^ than 
a preacher, revealing the great truths of the Gospel, as 
though he looked into heaven, and brought back tidings 
of what he saw there. 

*' I remember how we all revered him, and were 
taught in our earliest instructions at home, to hear him 
with filial confidence ; how our parents hallowed him in 
their hearts, and received his teachings as the wisdom of 
God ; how we caught the same spirit, never dreaming of 
criticism, or caviling, for we never heard any at home. 

" Alike in his portraitures of the sinner without the 
Gospel, and in his presentation of the Gospel to the sin- 
ner, he seemed to hold up the mirror, wherein you saw 
your need and your remedy. You forget him, as one 
forgets the polished glass, and saw only the vivid image ; 
the truth standing out before the eye. The impression^ 
as compared ivith other preachers^ I have often thought^ is 
illustrated in the passage of Joh^ '' I have heard of Thee 
by the hearing of the ear ; hut now mine eye seeth Thee. 

'' No man could sit under his ministry, without learn- 
ing the Gospel, — the living Gospel. No preacher 1 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSO:^. 81 

ever heardj so truly humbled man, and so highly exalted 
God. No one bo singly preached Christ, the chief cor- 
ner stone, the only foundation. The great doctrines of 
man's depravity, and God's sovereign grace ran through 
all Payson^s sermons ; so presented in their practical 
relations and connections, as to disarm caviling and 
enforce belief.'^ E, F. C. 



Dr. Payson had a full mind, the result of much read- 
ing and reflection. Hence the richness of his public 
discourses and familiar conversation. The remarkable 
facility with which he devoured the contents of a book, 
is alluded to in Dr. Cummings's work. 

We take the liberty to state the following anecdote^ 
which was recently related to us while on a visit to his 
native village : 

" Edward/' said the narrator, " came into my store ^ 
and there being a small collection of books, he asked 
and received permission to look at them. Taking one 
down, he went away into a corner and sat down to 
peruse it. It was a book of considerable size, and he 
had spent about twenty or thirty minutes in looking it 
over." '' You may take that book home, Edward," said 
I, " and read it." " I have read it, sir^ he replied. 

He seemed fully to understand the great object to be 
gained by reading. Intuitively, he would perceive what- 
ever of truth, or beauty, or argument, there was, in the 
pages he turned over so rapidly, and would discriminate, 
and sift the precious from the useless, with great readi" 
ness. 

His was not the unnatural craving of the mere book- 
worm, which devours indiscriminately, everything that it 



82 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

meets, — which proves little more than an undigested 
and innutritive mass, often worse than useless. 

In the early part of his ministy, we remember to have 
been present at a book-store, and to have seen him come 
in, (all hungry, forsooth, for a mere tit-bit to appease his 
mental craving, or to sharpen his appetite,) take up a 
book and lean over the counter, and spend, perhaps, ten 
or fifteen minutes in poring over it. The book which 
had attracted his noiice, we recollect, was " Lord Lyttle- 
ton's Dialogues of the Dead." He would find something 
suggestive in such books, and in such half-hours, thus 
spent, whereby he was accumulating a stock of ideas to 
meet th-e draft which was constantly made upon him. 

He possessed a magic wand, v/hose touch had the 
power to transmute everything into gold. He had such 
confidence in his intellectual powers, notwithstanding his 
great modesty, that he was always ready for every emer- 
gency that called them forth. Be the occasion what it 
might, h<3 pi'oved himself to be equal to it. He could 
always be trusted. Failure never put its seal upon any 
of his performances. No blunder, nothing unripe, irrel* 
evant, or offensive to good taste, either in matter or 
manner, ever occasioned the slightest pain or mortifica- 
tion to his friends. He would say the very thing 
that was expected, and needed ; and in the most unex- 
cepiionable manner. His taste and judgnient seemed to 
be unerring. Ha could appear well and unembar- 
rassed in whatever sphere he might be called to 
move. With a mind full and fiexible, he could accom- 
modate himself to the character of any company or 
individual; rising or falling, and findinghis level, whether 
he stood in the presence of authority, among the great 
and the learned, or mingled with the humble and lowl}'. 



PvECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON, 83 

He understood everything, whether of speech or behavior 
befitting his office and character ; hence, he avoided 
whatever might prove offensive, and practised, in his 
round of ministerial duty, only what was acceptable and 
useful to his people. None had aught, justly, to say 
against him. All, on his part, was decorous, well-timexi, 
prudent, and judicious. In his visits among his people, 
there was no outbreak of unguarded passion ; no pro- 
voking assault upon the unessential, cherished partialities 
and principles of others. He would instruct and win to 
the truth, by gentle, though not less effectual means. 
All he did, was '' in the meekness of wisdom.'' He had 
the ken of an experienced and well-instructed Seer. 
He had powers of deep fathoming. He had the dis- 
cernment of the serpent, without its subtlety ; " The 
Serpent blended with the Dove,'' and perhaps in the 
goodly proportion of which the facetious Lemuel Haynes 
speaks, that "an ounce of serpent was enough for a 
pound of dove.^' He was no gossip. No family or 
neighborhood was ever set in uproar, from any injudi- 
cious remark of his. 

In his manner of saying things, there was a holy 
charm ; seen alike in his conversation, his prayers, and 
preaching. This was acknowledged by the most super- 
ficial hearer. 

Guided by an honest and enlightened zeal, m his great 
work, he wished for no excuse for abating his ardor. 
Religion was his chosen element, and he was seldom out 
of it. Said he, once, to the writer, " private christians 
think they may relax in their work, but no such claim is 
allowed to the minister.^' There was in him, however, 
no wish for such an indulgence. 

No4)olitical storm, or calm^ no domestic embarrass- 



84 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON- 

ment — however deadening such a state might prove to 
other ministers — was seen to prevent his onward and 
upward course, or the urging of his i^ock heavenward. 
Hence the deep interest which his people generally felt 
in meetings for prayer and conference, when he v^as 
expected to be present ; although there were gifted and 
spiritually-minded brethren in the church, usually present 
on those occasions, whose names would be considered as 
a sufficient guaranty for a well-conducted and profitable 
meetmg, even though the pastor should be absent. 

His holy life contained a living exposition of the Bible ; 
and with the Word of God, like fire, shut up in hi> bones, 
every heart rejoiced, when he appeared, for they felt 
that he brought God w^ith him. The heart of every one 
present, " bowed as the heart of one man," and the 
sacred influence would kindle, and speed from heart ta 
heart. Either the Spirit of God was unusually present 
at those seasons, giving the ^' preparation of heart," and 
applying the truth with unwonted energy, or there was a 
mysterious power (if we may be allowed the expression) 
that made the place where we had assembled, emphati- 
cally the " gate of heaven." We think we are prompted 
by no invidious spirit, when we say that we have never 
been present at any meetings of a similar description, 
that have risen to that intensity of interest, or were as 
profitable in their results, as were those where Dr. Pay- 
son presided. Nor are we alone in our opinion on this 
subject. Writes a brother in the ministry, who was once 
a member of his church, " I can say, that I sat under his 
preaching, with great delight, and his words were sweet 
unto my taste. I have seen no where, (and it was during 
a space of thirty years) such delight in religious exerci- 
ses, as his people seemed to enjoy. Dr. Payson filled 



HECOLLECTIONS 01? PAY SON, ' 85 

my mind more by my two years under his ministry, than 
others filled it by their ministry, the previous twenty 
years.'^ ' C. F. 

The attendance of his people upon his ministrations-, 
was untiring. His preaching never produced satiet3^ 

" Be but a person in credit with the multitude,"^' says 
Dr. South, " and he shall be able to make rumbling, 
incoherent stuff pass off for high rhetoric." 

Dr. Payson took no advantage of his great popularity, 
to palm '* incoherent stuff" upon his audience for genu- 
ine matter. He furnished pure and '^ beatea gold for 
the sanctuary." He rode upon no political or partisan 
hobby. He was misguided by no fanatical zeal. Ther« 
was no trickery nor deception employed in order to affect 
his audience as with an April's alternate showers and 
sunshine, of tears and smiles. Loftier, purer were the 
aims and motives of Payson. in the pulpit, and every 
where, in him *' Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom 
there is no guile." 

Some subject of vital interest to his flock^ h-as occupied 
and in a measure concentrated his thoughts during the 
week. A '* savor of life unto life., or of death unto 
death" does he realize, more than most men, will be the 
result of his " message from God." He feels it — no 
man more than he. From the home of domestic piety, 
from his closet, from the bosom of his Savior, fresh 
for the loved duties of the sanctuary ; in his eye, heaven 
or hell depending, he repairs to meet his beloved flock 
The burden upon his heart is weighing him down. His 
countenance and whole demeanor betoken it. Sure, 
some angel is nigh to strengthen him, or he would sink 
under his burden. They have gathered to their respec- 
4* 



86 RECOLLECTIOXS OF PAYSON. 

tive places. As one among them, how often has the 
writer looked on his heavenly countenance, as he passed 
up the aisle, as with mingled emotions of veneration and 
love, oar hearts greeted him ; pondering solemnly, upon 
the character of the new message he was about to de- 
liver. 

His week-day visits were like Sabbath days, and the 
light of the Sabbath then, was as '' the light of seven 
days ; the light of the moon as the light of the sun." 
Witness ye, all who can and will, how sacred the temple- 
service of that hour; how like the "gate of heaven" 
that house of God ; how " his speech dropped upon us ; 
how we waited for his words as for the rain, and opened 
our mouths wide as for the latter rain." He is in his 
place. He rises to invoke God's blessing. We feel that 
the blessing is already upon us ; our hearts are with his, 
and ere he utters a word, every yielding heart in. the 
congregation is already bowed down in the dust. With 
one voice, yet with simultaneous desires, this first incenife- 
cloud of the morning worship, goes up from the altar, 
and our spiritual leader, like " Moses, had gone up to the 
Mount to talk with his Maker, face to face." 

We have intimated that his published discourses fail to 
present a correct view of his pulpit power, 'i'he ser- 
mons of many othei's read as well, perhaps better ; they 
may be more captivating in their style ; finer specimens 
of pulpit eloquence ; yet rarely, we think, do we open a 
volume of sermons, that would furnish page after page 
more desirable specimens of all that we wish to find in 
sermons ; perspicuous in diction, clear and conclusive in 
argument, brilliant and forcible in illustration, sound in 
doctrine, and pungent in application. This latter quality, 
pungency of application, is very apparent in his written 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 87 

(Jiscourses ; but especially did the conscieDces of the 
impenitent feel the searching appeal from his living 
voice. 

A very respectable lady, now residing in Maine, not 
long since remarked to the compiler, m substance as 
follows : — 

'* I was once a school-mate of Dr. Payson, in New 
Ij)swich, N. H., where he prepared for college. As I 
visited Portland, 1 attended, occasionally, at his church. 

On a Sabbath morning, purposing to hear Dr. Payson, 
I invited a lady of my acquaintance to accompany me, 
with which request she complied. 

Dr. Payson's text was from Hosea, iv : 17 ; '' Eph- 
raim is joined to idols, let him alone.' 

The sermon was of that searching character that 
proved a detector of heart idolatry in her' companion, 
who had not probably been accustomed to listen to such 
bold and uncompromising attacks, upon her bosom sins. 
Her fair fabric, built upon an external conformity to the 
Gospel, was about to fall in ruins. Being invited to 
revisit the same place of worship in the afternoon, *' No," 
exclaimed she, '' Dr. Payson tore away all my idols in 
the morning ; I shall not venture there again." 

Such was the general character of his sermons. The 
" axe he laid at the root of the tree." He drove the 
ploughshare so adroitly, and so deep, that every root and 
shoot was discovered and upturned. No secret corrup- 
tion, motive or passion of the heart, with which he was 
not perfectly acquainted. He knew where to strike in 
order to hit. Thus he detected and exposed to the view 
of the hearers all their secret sins, to their mortification 
and conviction. This consummate knowledge of the 
heart, was one of his distinguishing characteristics. The 



88 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

conscience trembled under his sturdy blows; for he was 
a Boanerges, as well as a son of consolation. 

The Eev. Dr. J., a fine scholar, and of a remarkably 
meek and quiet spirit, being once invited to preach his 
evening lecture, inquired of Dr. Payson before meeting, 
how he should come to his people on that evening, " with 
a rod, or in the spirit of meeknes?? " *' Come to them," 
said Dr. Payson, " with a hroad-axey " Therefore, 
have I hewed them by the prophets." Hosea v : 6. 

Aside from the peculiar richness and strength of his 
voice, the soul-speaking eye, and a countenance irradi- 
ated with the beauties of holiness, which would awe the 
whole assembly into a most reverent frame of mind-, 
producing a silence, which seemed to say, " Speak, thou 
servant of the Most High, for we are all present, to hear 
all that is commanded thee of God ;" — irrespective of all 
these extrinsic accompaniments, to which, some have 
attributed his great pulpit power, and his success as a 
preacher, he possessed an exuberance of glowing thought 
that blazed out in his piilpit productions, especially in his 
extempore efforts, with a power seldom witnessed. That 
his peculiar manner in the pulpit had much to do with 
the effect produced upon his audience, is true ; it could 
not be otherwise. We are willing that this consideration 
should have its due weight in forming an estimate of his 
character as a preacher. Yet it is an assertion very far 
from the truth, to say that he w^as indebted to his man- 
ner in the pulpit, or to his eminent piety even, for the 
surprising power which he exerted over his audience. 

The remark is very common, that the pulpit talents of 
Whitefield, constituted his great popularity as a preacher. 
From what is seen in his published discourses, supposing 
them to be a correct representation of his mind, the 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 89 

opinion is very fairly deduced. Our personal knowledge 
of Dr. Payson, gathered from many years of careful 
observation of him as a living preacher, in connection 
with the great excellence of his published works, effectu- 
ally destroys all justness of comparison between the two 
men, as it respects mental power. Whitefield unques- 
tionably had greater popularity than Payson, but it was 
drawn from a different source. Payson's sermons speak 
for themselves. Solid, logical, intellectual, deeply spirit- 
ual and experimental — qualities which do not super- 
abound in Whitefield's sermons. 

We have a v/itness to the great power and effect of 
Dr. Payson's preaching, in the testimony of those yet 
living, which the printed page, of necessity, must be 
insufficient to afford. His constant hearers, even at this 
remote period, have that living witness in precious keep- 
ing, speaking from the countenance, at the bare mention 
of his name. 

We think it was his own remark, that if any of his 
sermons had been specially useful, they were his extem- 
poraneous ones, and for reasons, perhaps, already stated.''^ 

In a journal which we kept during a few years of the 
early part of his ministry, we noted down many of his 
texts, with the heads and divisions of his unwritten ser- 
mons, which will give a general idea of their character. 



*Rev. T. Scolt, speaking of the superiority of extempore 
preaching to written sermons, remarks — 

" The degree, in which, after the most careful preparation for 
the pulpit, new thoughts, new arguments, animated addresses, 
often flew into my mind, while speaking to a congregation, even 
on very common subjects, makes me feel as if I were quite another 
man, than when poring over them in my study. There will be 
inaccuracies, but generally, the most striking things in my ser- 
mons, were unpremeditated." 



90 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

some of which may appear in the appendix. But who 
shall gather up those thoughts of beauiy, imagination 
and power, which fell from his lips ? '• Gone with the 
breath that gave them utterance, " as he said of the 
prayer offered on a special occasion, a copy of which 
was requested of him, by a lady who had listened to it. 

Could some pen have inscribed upon the walls of his 
church, the sentiments of brilliancy and pathos as they 
burst from the lips of eloquence, in his extemporaneous 
effusions, whether of prayer or preaching, how interest- 
ing the record ; how attractive would be the spot, 
to one who had never been a listener, as he should stand 
and read the memorial. Many a living heart yet vibrates 
to the recollection of the precious words ; and w^e doubt 
not, many a conscience that once felt the pointed arrow 
from his strong arm, in the still hour of recollection, feels 
it still. 

The force of these remarks of Dr. Scott, will be rrpn- 
erally acknowledged, as agreeing with the experience of 
most ministers. And yet, it should be remarked, that 
both Scott and Payson, were in the habit of a free use of 
the book and the pen. They were close students ; their 
literary treasures were always accumulating ; without 
which, these fine thoughts, strong arguments, and apt 
illustrations, had never been born. Creative genius and 
fancy, however strong and original, must have some 
material, some chaotic elements, at least, from which to 
speak their fair worlds into existence. 

There was no flagging in Dr. Payson's pulpit perform- 
ances. It v.'as not a superior sermon now and then, as 
some special occasion might demand. His sermons on 
the most ordinary occasions, were not mere hurry-graphs 
or common-place performances. At least, they never so 
seemed to us. 



RFX'OLLKCTIOxNS OF PAYSON. 91 

The '* mysterious lake " within, afforded rich and am- 
ple resources fr.im which he was never at a loss to meet 
every call and occasion ; and with a credit unsuspected 
and unfailing, did he sustain himself, through a period of 
twenty years. 

From the elevated position, in which he first appeared 
as a preacher, he was never compelled to descend. Al- 
though remarkably popular at first, a popularity^ well- 
based and well-balanced, he never broke down. Flis 
was not the borrowed capital, the mere sliow of intellect- 
ual wealth. He came to his profession, affluent in 
everything that is necessary to adorn, and strengthen, 
and perpetuate a useful, successful and brilliant ministry. 
By nature highly gifted, a student of books and of men 
at an early age, his knowledge grew up with him ; not 
as the lean ox that by change of pasture fattens upon the 
luxuriant herbage, and gathers flesh to be lost as soon. 
His flesh was " v/orked on to him ;" it was of a steady 
growth, healthy and enduring, with muscle strong, nerve 
enough, and all in fair and beautiful proportions. Noth- 
ing thread-bare or imbecile in his preaching, gave the 
least intimation of intellectual bankruptcy. Plis was the 
eagle's flight. On strong and elastic pinions he attained 
a lofty elevation above most men, and continued longer 
on the wing. 

Who ever listened to him, in his early or later ministry 
to hear a discourse prosy, or uninstructive ? And yet he 
seemed unconscious of their excellency or power. Ho 
thouLjht but little of his own performances, and would 
express surprise at being told of a particular sermon that 
had been blessed to some one of his hearers. His low 
opinion of it, would elicit the remark, '' Some crooked 
crab-stick." His great humility would not sutler him, to 



92 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

be forward in recognizing or acknowledging the amazing 
effect which truth coming from his lips, produced upon 
the minds of his hearers. 

There was no subject which came under his observa- 
tion, that he was not able to grasp and handle with the 
istrength of a giant. He was an adroit and mighty 
operator. He would examine and dissect every subject 
in such a manner that the spectator would apprehend the 
exact position and proportion of its several parts ; its 
symmetry, its beauty, and its importance. 

No vapid thought could be the legitimate offspring of 
his brain. No flashy, trashy ideas ever escaped his lips 
or pen. His mind was of that elegant mould, that what- 
ever might be poured into it, there came out only, and 
always, that which was most perfect in its kind. 

He used to remark, that, " the voice^ was one half to 
a minister," a remark, we grant, true in a measure, to 
the observation of every one. The fact was obvious in 
his own case. " The voice is the key which unlocks the 
heart," some good judge of human power and passion, 
remarks. Its strength, and depth, its compass, its mel- 
lowness and rich intonations, make an irresistible impres- 
sion upon the mind, and the heart is nerved by its magic 
power. The great advantage arising to the possessor of 
this natural gift, is unquestionable ; yet much more than 
mere sound in its most harmonious modulation, is neces- 
sary to perfect the acceptable and efficient orator. Nor 
could it be the mere effect of voice, perfectly managed 
as his was, that captivated the mind and hearts of his 
hearers, and left them spell-bound when he would pro- 
nounce, for example, a quotation of poetry of some half 
a dozen lines, appropriately introduced into his discourse, 
always with fine taste and judgment, and with subduing 



RECOLLECTIOr^S OF PAYSOK. 93 

effect. In this practice, however, he very sparingly in- 
dulged ; as he once remarked when conversing on the 
subject, .hat he never sought for such quotations, where- 
with to embellish his discourses. We refer, particularly, 
to the first or second year of his ministry, when the lamp 
of his genius, fed by the kindling ardor of youth, burned 
with an effulgence that became somewhat dimmed in 
after years. But then^ when the lines of the poet would 
come forth from his lips, the effect was electrical, over- 
powering. Then, your *' strength was to sit still'' — if 
you could. 

We shall not soon forget the manner in which he pro- 
nounced from the pulpit those beautifully descriptive lines 
of Goldsmith, 

" As some tall cliff, that lifts its awfal form, 
Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm } 
Though round its breast, the rolling thunders spread, 
Eternal sunshine settles on its head." 

The emotions it awakened are not easily described. If 
you have ever witnessed a scenic representation of thun- 
der and lightning, and will institute the comparison 
between that artificial mimicry, and an electric explosion 
from the clouds, you may judge, in a measure, of the 
difference of Dr. Payson's manner of pronouncing those 
lines, and that of almost any ordinary speaker. 

An illustration and confirmation of this remark we 
lately witnessed. The preac^ier had selected the same 
lines of Goldsmith ; he had the reputation of more than 
an ordinary elocutionist, and he was. The performance 
went off as it would from most — well ; but only to con- 
firm us in the opinion we had already formed of the vast 



94 RECOLLECTIOXS OF PAYSON. 

superiority of Dr. Payson's elocution. Our judgment — 
which was made up more than forty years since — no 
subsequent observation of other public speakers, has 
induced us to alter. 

Although no two speakers can be found, who are just 
alike in voice or manner, yet a resemblance is sometimes 
witnessed, and some speakers have been successfully 
imitated ; but we have never heard the man, yet, who has 
scarcely reminded us of Dr. Payson, in manner or voice ; 
nor is it in the power of any language to describe them. 
You must have seen and heard him, to obtain any correct 
idea of them, unlike as he was in these respects to any 
other to whom we have ever listened. Some of his tones 
might be caught ; some persons might even " steal his 
thunder," but the " touch ethereal," the flash, was 
peculiarly and exclusively his own. 

" He thinks lightning^'- is remarked of a celebrated 
barrister. Not an unapt representation, is it, of the 
mind which we are describing ? 

After what has been said of the effectiveness of Dr. 
Payson as a preacher, it will probably be understood by 
those who have never heard him, that he was an impas- 
sioned speaker ; and he was ; yet not in the way, 
perhaps, which they may have imagined. 

He was rapid in his utterance, as we think, to a fault ; 
especially in pronouncing his written discourses ; yet, so 
distinct was his enunciation, that his hearers never lost a 
word. We remember once to have reminded him of this 
supposed fault. The remark*he made was, in substance, 
that others might be slower in the delivery of their ser- 
mons, but that he could not be. '' It would not be 
natural in me to do so. " He was conscious himself, 
that his manner of utterance must be in accordance with 
his natural temperament. 



KECOLLKCTIONS OF PAYsON. 95 

With respect to gesture, in the pulpit, he found, that 
for him to " suit the action to the word," he must use no 
action at all ; but let truth and feeling speak for them- 
selves, in their own simple and unadorned expression. 
For li'tm to have adopted a diiferent course, would have 
been as incongruous as for those of a cold and phlegmatic 
temperament to have attempted an imitation of his 
manner. An iUustration of this remark was found in his 
immediate ne'ghborhood. We refer to the Rev. Francis 
Brown, D. D., afterwards President of Dartmouth Col- 
lege. The latter would have compared, in man}'' 
respects, with Dr. Payson. He v/as of noble bearing in 
person, of keen intellect, and ardent piety ; yet a perfect 
contrast with the former in his style of composition, and 
in his pulpit manner. 

President Brown, in his preaching, always reminded 
us of the ocean, swelling slowly and majestically in its 
undulations. His constitutional temperament was of such 
a cast, that his thoughts, when conceived and ready for 
utterance, came heaving up, v/ave after wave — and they 
were thoughts of great brilliancy and beauty — while 
Payson's mind and manner were like the waters v/hich 
sped deep and rapid along their channel, eddying and 
circling upon the bosom of the lake, and in haste to find 
the outlet, through which they might leap in grandeur 
over the ibaming precipice. 

In the pulpit, Dr. Pyiyson stood almost motionless. 
Occasionally, and somewhat mechanically, he changed 
his position, aliernately, to the right or left, in addressing 
his audien-ce below, seldom, if ever, directing his eyes to 
those in the gallery. 

He had the least possible rhetorical flourish in preach- 
ing. Indeed, there was nothing that approxiniated to it. 



95 RECOLLECTIONS OF PATSO>% 

There was no s:iwing in the air, :q unavailing e5brts to 
give an effectiveness to a sentence that it never possessed 5 
no " strut or start theatric," as is sonietimes seen dis- 
gracing the pulpit-comedian of the present day ; no 
vain display of the lily-white hand, stretched out with an 
affected, artificial trembling, as if it had been stricken 
with the palsy; no clenched fist, upraised, and coming 
down upon the Bible, like as an auctioneer's hammer, or 
as the smith's upon the anvil. 

We could almost wish, sometimes, that he would give 
us now -and then, one modest gesture, to let us know 
that a paralysis vras not upon his right arm ; some little 
perpendicular movement of the hand, lawyer-like, when 
laying dov/n his case, or enforcing his argument, but no : 
there was nothing, save an occasional raising of the fore- 
finger, which motion comprised the sum total of hi» 
gesticulation in the pulpit ; and yet he was the most 
effective preacher to whom we have ever listened. 

But would not his preaching have been more effective 
had he used more pulpit orator}" ? The possibility of 
such a thing we will not deny, but in so doing he 
would have been another man. Payson could not have 
done it and been Payson still. As of President 
Edwards, or Dr. Emmons and others, so of Dr. Pay- 
son, it might be said that the truth, simple and un- 
adorned as it flowed from their lips, could not have 
been more impressive, with whatever graces of delivery 
it might have been arrayed. We looked for no such 
display in our minister. Whether it was because we had 
always been used to his peculiar simplicity of manner, 
we are not sure, but in /n'-a we judged all parade in the 
desk as out of character. Especially, for Azm, with the 
London cockney, to have attempted to " hact the hora- 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYS ON. 97 

tor,'* would have been considered little less than a 
burlesque upon the pulpit. His people in him had got 
their standard of pulpit eloquence, and were satisfie.d. 
Dr. Payson from principle, would have repudiated all 
such artificial embellishment merely for effect., from a 
natural modesty, or from a conviction that the truth 
"needs not the foreign aid of ornament;" or more 
probably, from an intuitive perception of what was natu- 
ral and befitting in Mm, he adopted the simple style of 
delivery which characterized his pulpit performances. 
He chose rather to act in accordance with the pious 
Herbert's recommendation to ministers, '' to dip and sea- 
son all our words and sentences in our own hearts before 
they come into our mouths, so that the auditors may 
plainly perceive that every word is heart-deep," than to 
be solicitous to please by external display. 

A stranger on first hearing Dr. Payson, would be sur- 
prised, yet gratified, in finding his far-fatned eloquence 
to be of so different a cast from that which he had an- 
ticipated. His appearance in the pulpit was different 
from that of most preachers, perhaps we may say, from 
that of any other, and his eloquence of a character 
difficult of attainment or imitation. It was more than 
mere gracefulness, attitude or flourish, but coming up 
from the lowest depths of the soul it was expressed in 
the peculiar tones of his voice, and seen diffused over 
his whole impassioned countenance, telling with unmis- 
takable efl?ectupon the feelings of his audience. 

We have said that any gesticulation, in him, would 
have impaired rather than improved liis delivery. That 
others may avail themselves of such aids, with advantage 
to the general effect of their speaking, is doubtless true. 



98 .RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

For instance, — the elder Dr. Beecher, with his peculiar 
constiiutional and concentrated ener. ies, must, when he 
speaks, give vent to them in correspondent action. His 
horizontal gestures, sudden, quick, impassioned, are in 
character. They suit the thoughts he utters ; they suit 
the man. He gets his meaning into you, and in spite of 
you. They are home thrusts. 

Tie the Doctor's hands, and he could scarcely speak 

at all. He would agonize under the bondage, and every 

auditor would say at once let the preacher be unmana- 

cled, th.u nature may speak and act itself out as it will. 

* Beecher must be Beecher. 

Take another instance, the late Dr. Griffin, the prince 
of pulpit orators of his day, perhaps of any day. His 
noble form is before you ; his very presence speaks, and 
speaks in almost more than mortal majesty. Watch his 
thoughts of brilliancy and beauty, as they flow from a 
mind where only such thoughts are conceived, arrayed 
in language so powerfully impressive, and in diction of 
surpassing elegance. . 

You have seen his tall and portly figure as he rises in 
the pulpit, and you expect to find his action in keeping 
with his majestic person. You are prepared to witness 
the slow and lofty yet graceful sweep of his arm, ac- 
companying the utterance of his grand and weighty 
thoughts. There is an out-spoken dignity in his counte- 
nance, and in every motion. You are captivated 
by his eloquence ; nay more, he has opened your 
bosom ; a massive spear is in his right hand, and 
the conscience of the assembly has felt its point. 
Anon he soars as on eagles' wings, himself penetrated 
with the sublimity of his subject ; for his thoughts which 
have just been hovering over the '* burning lake,'* are now 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 99 

of heaven, and he has opened to your enraptured gaze, 
the gates of paradise, and you almost enter with him 
there. 

This conformity of action or gesture to the peculiar 
genius of individual minds, applies in Dr. Payson's case. 
God has made no two men alike. When every man 
acts himself he acts in character. It is all we expect, 
and just what we have a right to expect. All else is 
sheer affectation ; naiure is despoiled, and defeat 
ensues. 

A keen observer of mankind, yet probably an enemy 
to evangelical religion, on hearing Mr. Wesley preach, 
remarked, that '* he was evidently an actor^ as much as 
Garrick was.'' From such an imputation, Dr. Payson's 
great simplicity and sobriety of manner, effectually 
shield him. 

In his extemporaneous performances, whether in his 
preaching or prayers, notwithstanding the great rapidity 
of his utterance, we do not remember a single instance 
during the time we sat under his ministry, of his having 
to recall a word. There was no tripping, no lapsus 
linguse in his speech. Words as apposhe as possible, 
seemed always to "come as ready servitors," and always 
found their appropaiate place. There was no helter- 
skelter either in his thoughts or language ; no sentence 
fell from his lips unfinshed, lame in its construction, 
feeble or tame in sense. A zig-zag rambler, he 
never was ; but always in the direct path to his point, 
earnest, intent, seldom missing his aim, and wilhout 
irrelevancy or bombast. No unbecoming thought, noth- 
ing trite, no cant ; no vulgarism to disgust the most 
fastidious hearer ; nothing to dissipate or distract your 
attention. No yawn in his hearers, could be a legiti- 



100 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

mate offspring of his preaching. His extempore sermons 
did not usually exceed thirty or thirty-five minutes in 
their delivery ; his written ones not more than forty or 
forty-five minutes. We never knew him to make what 
would be called a long prayer ; al least, never one that 
seemed so. 

He would encompass you in the net of his eloquence ; 
you were caught, and listen you must, imprisoned, en- 
tranced : — listen you must, and for yourself; there was 
no opportunity or desire to listen for others. Each 
hearer felt that he was '' apart ; " in the language of the 
prophet, '' the husband apart, and the wife apart ; " every 
hearer apart, and his neighbor apart. 

Conscience could not long '' sleep on rose or myrtle." 
His words came not over the assembly like the soothing 
strains of an Eolian harp, merely to assist the enraptured 
listener to revel as in the bowers of a sentimental 
elysium ; nor as the aroma from blushing flowers of 
rhetoric in subtile fragrance, causing them to " expire of 
a rose in aromatic pain." No one went away half-intox- 
icated with the nectar that had distilled from the speaker's 
lips to overcome, and poison, and destroy, by its fascina- 
tion ; giving a repose fatal to the peace of the soul ; a 
narcotic that lulls the patient " in dreams of unreal bliss,^' 
the '' mere mockery of joy." Elevated and elevating 
were all his thoughts ; so weighty that an angel might 
listen with wrapt attention, and yet so simple that a child 
might understand him. 

As a minister he highly respected his ofRce. The 
pulpit was his forte. The man of God, indeed, he was, 
out of it, and every where ; but when he stood forth as 
the '' ambassador of God to guilty men," all the sympa- 
thies of a brother man, and of a fellow-sinner were in 



IIECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 101 

full play, while the responsibility involved in his high 
commission, and the results of a faithful or unfaithful 
stewardship, seemed to press upon his soul as with a 
mountain's weight. 

The '' solemn awe " with which the Poet was filled in 
the bare contemplation of the sacredness of the pulpit, 
was with Dr. Payson, a deep realization. He once 
remarked, that while preaching, *' it seemed as if Christ 
stood by his side in the pulpit, looking over his shoulder." 
So sensibly did he realize the Divine presence, not only 
as affording the promise of aid in the discharge of his 
duties, but as a powerful incentive to fidelity in his great 
work. 

There v/as no pompous display of himself. His pulpit 
performances, from the opening Invocation of the morn- 
ing, to the closing Benediction of the evening, partook 
alike of the same characteristic and inimitable solemnity. 
No one of these services appeared in his view so insig- 
nificant, as to tempt him to say " no matter for this." 
They were all performed without the least sign of affecta- 
tion or carelessness in his manner. The recognition of 
the fact that his commission was of Divine appointment, 
produced in his mind such a conviction of its authority and 
importance, that he felt upborne thereby to speak with a 
solemnity that well became his high and holy vocation. 
He knew that a '^dispensation of the Gospel was com- 
mitted to him," and the amazing results which were to 
follow his ministry were never absent from his mind. 
He reverently bowed to the high behest of heaven, re- 
ceiving with humble awe, at God's mouth, the messages 
he should from time to time deliver. Hence the high 
respect he felt for his office. 



102 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOM. 

The claims of his people respecting their partialities, 
their opinions and feelings he never slighted ; that this 
was true as it regarded their spiritual interests is abund- 
antly evident. The '^ Holy Ghost had made him 
overseer" of his flock. His ordination vows were not 
more certamly registered in heaven, than engraven upon 
his heart. He never seemed to lose sight of them. He 
was not the " idol-shepherd/' who fed himself and not 
his flock. He was no mercenary priest ; he sought not 
theirs^ but them. 

Less to him than to most others applied the rebuke 
contained in Cowper's description of an unfaithful shep- 
herd. 

" The hungry sheep look up, and are not fed." 

He viewed his hearers as immortal beings, and him- 
self, in a measure, as the instrument in the hands of 
the Divine Spirit, of molding their characters, and fix- 
ing their eternal destinies. Could one, under such 
influences, be otherwise than circumspect in everything 
that related to his ministerial intercourse ; earnest in the 
pulpit, and grave in his deportment out of it f Whatever 
might have been his misgivings with respect to this mat- 
ter, we could say, unhesitatingly, /^ how holily and 
unblamably he lived among us." No man more than 
he, could say " I am pure from the blood of all men." 

There were able champions of the truth, in his imme- 
diate neighborhood ; some, like himself, just girded for 
the war, fresh, and pressing onward for the crown of 
victory ; there were others of a more veteran character. 
The cause of evangelical truth in that region, was gain- 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 103 

ing a decided ascendancy over error, and it was matter 
of congratulation to the friends of Zion, that such valiant 
men were in the field. An era of hope had dawned 
upon the churches. 

' Most of those who composed the council which 
ordained Dr. Payson, have gone to their reward ; and 
of those who were coadjutors in their youth-time with 
him, some have ceased from their labors. 

The names of Brown, of Mead and Jenkins, and 
others who have departed, and who were once associated 
with him in the toils and privileges of the ministry, will 
be held in most respectful and grateful remembrance. 

And some remain as pillars still in the church of God 
on earth. 

The Rev. Dr. Beman, now of Troy, N. Y., once an 
intimate fellow-laborer, and located side by side with Dr. 
Payson ; Coggswell and Rand, and others, though they 
represent a by-gone age, yet remain strong to labor in 
God's vineyard. The}> remind us of other days ; days 
of precious memory, and of the truths they preached, 
more precious still. We love to name them — to asso- 
ciate them with the memory of the man whom we so 
loved and respected ; and thus grouping them, to form a 
memorial of a most delightful period in the evangelical 
history of Maine. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

His sermons considered, comparatively. — Notice of Rev. Mr. 
Jenkins. — The simplicity of the style of Dr. Payson's preach- 
ing illustrated by an anecdote respecting two sailors. — Saying 
of a Scottish housewife. — The excellency of Dr. Payson's 
published sermons, called in question by some. — His 
*' Thoun-hts " reviewed. — Notice of " The Pastor's daughter," 



CHARACTER OF HIS SERMONS. 

Comparisons have been instituted between Ur. Pay- 
son's published discourses, and those of contemporary 
preachers. 

His worthy coadjutor, the Eev. Charles Jenkins, who 
labored side by side with him in Portland for several 
years, an elegant scholar, and most faithful pastor, 
might, in the opinion of some, have exceeded him in 
the brilliancy of his style of writing. Perhaps he drew 
from his quiver an arrow of a smoother polish, and of a 
more brilliant feather, though not capable of greater 
execution. 

Allowing to Mr. Jenkins' sermons more literary orna- 
ment and polish, yet for originality, and boldness of 
conception, directness of aim and appeal, as well as 
perspicuity of style, we are compelled to pronounce in 
Dr. Payson's favor. 



KECOLLECTIONS OE PAYSON. 105 

Considering the celebrity of his unambitious rival, 
with whom the comparison is instituted, the verdict we 
bring in, contains a high encomium upon Dr. Payson, 
for it would be considered as sa}'ing much in any man's 
praise to admit him equal to Jenkins. 

Few writers have conveyed their thoughts with less 
circumlocution. He was quick to detect any extra- 
neous or irrelevant matter in the productions of his 
theological students. As a writer, his language con- 
tained the sentiments he would express most exactly, and 
nothing else. Said a professional gentleman of emi- 
nence to the writer, " I have never heard a speaker who 
expressed so much in so few words." 

He practiced upon the principle of the Apostle, " using 
great plainness of speech." How easily might he have 
clothed his thoughts in a more superb array had he 
chosen to do it ; but he adopted a " more excellent way." 
His own opinion on this subject, and an illustration of it, 
will be seen in the following incident. 

At the close of an evening lecture as he walked down 
the aisle, with the retiring audience, he overheard two 
sailors remarking upon the sermon. "That," said one 
to the other, " was the plainest sermon I ever heard." 
'' The highest compliment," remarked Dr. Payson, '' I 
ever had paid to my preaching." 

Writes a correspondent, '' Dr. Payson had the faculty 
of adapting himself to every occasion. Some able 
ministers cannot do this. They will preach an hour and 
a half when they should preach but half an hour, and 
will be inappropriate in other services. I now remem- 
ber with what pleasure aad satisfaction I heard, more 
than twenty-eight years ago, a sermon he preached at 
Fryeburg, at the ordination of Mr. Hard ; it was so 



106 RECOLLECTIOXS OF PAYSON. 

appropriate, so well arranged, so comprehensive, and so 
brief." C. F. 



It is not every good preacher that has the independ- 
ence or moral courage to hazard his i^utation as a 
learned man, clothing his thoughts in plain and simple 
language, which though chaste and unoffending to a 
pure taste, shall yet be upon a level with the understand- 
ing of the most illiterate of his hearers. 

There are those who would '* show off" their learn- 
ing or oratory to amaze the vulgar, and thus, forsooth, 
conceal the sterility of their thoughts, by the intricacy of 
involved periods or verboseness of language, in order to 
obtain from their hearers the reputation of great ser- 
monizers. *' Our minister gave us a deep sermon to- 
day," — is a very doubtful compliment. 

There are some authors who shoot away among the 
stars, beyond the reach of their own vision, as well as 
that of their readers ; or, venturing beyond their depth, 
are drowned in the unfathomable profound. It is some- 
times so with ministers. 

Says a late writer, ironically, in allusion to this subject, 
*' A mistiness of meaning is no detriment ; things loom 
large through it, and many feel like the canny old 
Scottish housewife, who, after hearing and praising a 
celebrated preacher, being asked if she understood him, 
answered, '' Hoot mon, wad I hae the presumption ? '^ 

It has been said by some that Dr. Payson's published 
discourses will sink to their proper level when his per- 
sonal friends shall have left the earth. The remark, as 
we understand it, implies that the popular estimation of 
them, is above their intrinsic value. We think otherwise. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 107 

There are now among the admirers of his published 
sermons, those who were not his personal friends, having 
never known or heard him, and who cannot, therefore, 
have made up their judgment from any personal partiali- 
ties. Again, no sermon of his, on which the public eye 
has rested, has yet^ as we are aware, lowered in the 
scale of public opinion, a single iota. This statement is 
unquestionable, as it regards his occasional sermons 
which have floated on the wings of the four winds, have 
been acknowledged as vehicles of the richest thought, 
embodiments of the mosi valuable truth, have been 
translated into various languages, and are still read with 
the deepest interest as sermons of extraordinary value. 
What reason is there to suppose a future generation will 
appreciate them less than the present ? Again, if his 
discourses when delivered from the pulpit, captivated 
and enchained the attention of enlightened auditors, and 
.that, not principally for their manner of delivery, but for 
the excellency of their matter, why should these sermons 
fail to secure the admiration of those who shall read 
them at any future time ? It is not the character of 
such sermons, more than it is of pure gold, to be affected 
by age ; although a coin bright from the mint be spe- 
cially attractive, and bearing the sovereign's image, may 
be considered by a loyal subject, additionally valuable 
on that account, and still more so as the gift of a friend, 
yet are its intrinsic qualities not affected by any such 
circumstances ; but passing through a thousand hands, 
and to distant lands and times, it is still gold, only and 
always. 

It is a common remark, and may apply in this case, 
that published sermons are not read with such inter-est 
and avidity, as are volumes of truth issuing from the 



108 RECOLLF.CTIOxNS OF PAYSON. 

press in other forms ; 3^et we cannot believe that 
Payso7i*s sermons, more than others of intrinsic merit, 
are to be piled away to gather dust, as mere theological 
lumber, or that they are to float forgotten or unapprecia- 
ted down the stream of oblivion. Facts justify no such 
conclusion. The style and the substantial character of 
his works are so much like the Bible itself that they will 
retain their freshness and their interest like that Book of 
God, measured by whatever standard of sound criticism, 
and of whatever age. 

It is not known' that any of the religious or literary 
periodicals of his day, shared in the offerings of his pen. 
The cause we are unable to assign. It might have been 
from want of time to devote to such an object, or from 
disinclination, or from conscientious motives. That the 
periodical press would have been greatly enriched and 
adorned by the productions of his tasteful and prolific 
pen, had he so employed it, admits of no doubt. 

Unfortunate is it, for the cause of truth, that his 
epistolary correspondence was so limited. Those 
of his letters which have been published do but awaken 
regret, that, with Cowper and Newton and other kindred 
minds, he had not in this way blessed the religious 
world with the out-gushings of his sanctified genius ; 
that his *Cordiphonia is not to be seen side by side with 
that of those distinguished christian authors who have 
thus enriched our religious and miscellaneous literature. 
While his sermons, the massive gold, are placed on the 
shelf with those of Edwards and Dwight and Beecher 
and Woods, his letters and lighter works would have 



*The utterance of the heart. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 109 

been precious treasures for the gratification and im- 
provement of the christian's spare half-hour. 

'^ payson's thoughts." 

None of his published writings afford more rare or 
beautiful specimens of original thought, power of illus- 
tration, or convincing appeals to the conscience, than 
the little volume, which bears the above title; — for 
several years circulated in a separate form, and more 
recently published with his " complete works." These 
thoughts are gems, and if ever were penned " thoughts 
that breathe, and words that burn," they are found in 
this selection of his " Remains." They fall not behind 
the celebrated "Remains" of Cecii and Newton; 
and are to constitute a monument o:' his genius, wis- 
dom and piety, lasiing as time. The frequent quotations 
from them, evince their value in the public estimation, 
and from their peculiar brilliancy and originality, are 
known as soon as seen. 

Remarks a correspondent : — " 1 think his *' Thoughts" 
give the best idea of the man. There was a fullness 
and appositeness about his illustrations, and such perfect 
fitness in the language in which he clothed them, that 
nothing could be added or diminished without marring 
their beauty. When I recall them, as he spoke some of 
them in my hearing, on his dying bed, and recall at the 
same time, his flashing eye, and rapturous tone of utter- 
ance, which disease could not destroy, I am reminded 
of one of his dying pra^^crs, in which he desired he 
might be a mirror, to reflect the glories beaming upon 
him. That conveyed my idea of the man in his mighty 



110 RECOLLECTIONS OF PATSON. 

influence over the niind, more than any form of expres- 
sion I can frame. 

" I have often used these ( '' Thoughts/' ) he further 
writes, **and rarely without impression. I remember 
one trembling inquirer, who told me he should have 
given up, and gone back in despair of ever finding the 
Savior, had I not related the illustration from Payson 
of the three blind men restored to sight ; one at mid- 
night — the second at day-break, the third at noon-day. 
It was the mirror held up to his eye ; he saw and believed. 
Indeed, I often think of Fuller's sentence when remem- 
bering Payson. " If arguments are the pillars of the 
building, illustrations are the windows which let in the 
most light." Payson reasoned in parables, and the light 
poured in on the mind, daguerreotyped the truth there." 

E. F. C. 

" THE pastor's daughter." 

This little volume contains a most invaluable treatise 
for young inquirers. Although Dr. Payson's mind and 
manner are so obvious throughout the book, yet it is not 
to be considered as having been written by him. It is 
the production of his daughter, Mrs. L. P. Hopkins, who 
is well known as a popular writer of the present day. 
It is in the dialogue form, containing conversations be- 
tween the writer's father and herself while very young. 
She is represented as just having had her eyes opened 
to a sense of her spiritual condition, and as being solic- 
itous of guidance from one, who, as her father and 
pa9tor,*was qualified above most others, to give her 
the instruction she needoil. The honest simplicity, and 
awakened interest of childhood, is seen in the variou* 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. Ill 

inquiries which she makes, while the wisdom, experience, 
and remarkable tact of the father, appears in his an- 
swers. Encouraged by noticing the critical state of her 
mind, thus early awakened to the important subject of 
religion, he becomes himself, unwontedly quickened 
while aiding the young inquirer in her search for the 
Pearl of great price ; an inquiry, which terminated after 
a long and severe conflict, in a successful issue. The 
dialogue form is adopted the better to express the simple 
feelings of the young mind, and that her readers, espe- 
cially the young, may understand more clearly the 
difficulties, perplexities and opposition that dwelt in her 
heart, and in every heart. The progress of conviction 
as she receives increasing light, gives opportunity for 
the pastor's seasonable interposition. The reader may 
stop at each stage of her hesitation and inquiry, to hear 
remarks for the explanation or removal of her difficul- 
ties, or, to convince her of the remaining pride and 
selfishness of her heart. 

The various movements of her depraved nature are 
narrowly watched by the sagacious pastor, every " refuge 
of lies " to which she runs for a shelter, is, one after 
the other, swept away, until defenceless, and stripped of 
every hope of salvation other than the true one, she sub- 
mits, a willing captive to sovereign grace. The " weap- 
ons of her warfare " in the struggle, though of infantile 
growth, are nevertheless, wielded with the same adroit- 
ness as by older subjects ; showing that the c^ame grace 
is needed to disarm the infant rebel, as to conquer the 
stout-hearted veteran in iniquity. She fought to the 
last. 

The volume is recommended especially to youno* 
persons who begin to feel that their heart is not right 



112 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

with God. We have before asserted that the conversa- 
tions in this book, as they appear in print, are not 
identically or literally as spoken by the parties ; yet, 
from our knowledge of the man, and his general method 
of conversing with inquirers, the language and the ex- 
pression are so life-like and characteristic, that we 
regard the book as containing not only the best specimen 
of his colloquial powers, but upon the whole as a very 
striking portrait of his mind. 



CHAPTER IX. 

His sensitiveness with reg'ard to the success of his labors. — His 
acute mental sufferings. — The cause explained. — Dr. T. Scott's 
remarks on the same subject. — ^Advantages of spiritual trials 
considered, as forming christain character, a-nd triumph in 
death. — Dr. Payson, not of all men most miserable. — The 
character of his piety described, — defended. — Objections an» 
swered. 

It is well known, from his published diary and letters, 
as well as from other sources, how much his hopes and 
joys were affected by the state of religious feeling among 
his people, from time to time. This was his ther- 
mometer ; whether properly used or correctly graduated 
it is not our business to decide. 

If it were an undue anxiety which he manifested, 
surely '^ he erred on virtue's side.'* It is not to '' ner- 
vousness," but to other, and very different causes that 
his deep solicitude respecting this matter, is to be as- 
cribed. The object of his grand pursuit from the com- 
mencement of his ministry to its close, viz : the salva- 
tion of his people, awakened and kept in play his might- 
iest energies. It was an object paramount to all others. 
Of this object, he seemed never to lose sight. He be- 
held it not dimly, as in the distance; but near and 
distinctly. Not occasionally, or fitfully ; but constantly, 
and with a zeal in compassing his object, that never 



114 RECOLLECTIONS OP PATSON. 

tired. " I must be about my Father's business " was 
the precept he borrowed from his Divine Lord — seen 
engraven upon his heart, and upon his life, to his dying 
day. 

Was the solicitude and prayerful expectation he man- 
ifested, respecting the success of his labors, unreasonable 
or presumptuous ? Did he not go forth " bearing the 
precious seed, weeping" — and who will forbid that his 
heart should be set upon binding up the precious sheaves, 
or that he should grieve at the disappointment, if such a 
privilege were denied him ? Would Elijah have expe- 
rienced no disappointment had his prayers for rain 
remained long unanswered, and the " little cloud " not 
made its appearance ; or, if when coming up it had been 
exhaled by the burning sun, and Israel's thirsty fields 
remained to mourn ? Confidence in God's power and 
promise forbade these, his servants, to rest satisfied with 
a denial, or to sit down in indifierence as to the result of 
their prayers. They both exemplified the " patience of 
the husbandman, in waiting for the early and latter rain," 
yet, it was a waiting consistent with deep solicitude an'S 
persevering prayer. And we may venture to inquire, 
on whom rests the imputation of blame in this case ; 
upon him who expresses his yearning, agonizing desires 
for the salvation of his people, or on those who indulge 
but feeble expectations respecting the results of their 
labors ; or who unbelievingly say, *' If the Lord would 
make windows in heaven might such a thing be," or 
" when the Lord's time shall come, sinners will be con- 
verted." The atmosphere of the Sabbath surrounded 
Dr. Payson during the week ; faithfully and pensively, 
and with tears, he sowed the good seed, and he looked 
diligently for its up-springing. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PATSON. 116 

*'Igoto meeting on the Sabbath," said one; "our* 
minister is an excellent man. I have no fault to find 
with him. He gives us excellent sermons on the Sab- 
bath, but, he preaches, and there's an end o'^nt,'^^ 

No disrespect to his minister, was intended by this 
remark, and yet there is much meaning, and wholesome 
reproof contained in it. 

It is sufficiently understood how much greater results 
might follow the preaching of the word, were it followed 
up with consecutive efforts for the imjression of truth 
upon the conscience. Perhaps some " stricken deer " 
needs the kind hand to ex.ract the arrow of conviction, 
or to pour oil into the bleeding wound. Some troubled 
heart may need the consolation which shall alleviate its 
anguish ; some newly-awakened mind in its bewilder- 
ment, may need the wisdom of experience to guide it 
into the way of life. 

In allusion to this subject, writes a successful Ameri' 
can preacher. Rev. Mr. Congley, who, while in England 
had attended a service on the Sabbath, " The preacher 
had addressed the audience with much unction, but the 
results were not such as might be expected to follow 
such a discourse. Could he have stayed at the prayer- 
meeting which followed the sermon — assisted the breth- 
ren by his presence and inlluence, to draw the net ashore^ 
then, good, he supposed, might have been done." I 
formerly," he adds, "cast out my net in this way, and 
retired without taking the trouble to see whether any 
soul had become entangled therein, and for months 
together, I was not aware of a single seal to my minis- 
try. The brethren would say, " we are on the eve of a 
powerful revival," but when next Sabbath came, sinners 
were as far from God as ever, and were once more 



116 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOX. 

ready to play around and inside of my harmless net At 
last, I came to the conclusion that I would stand by my 
net, with tears and many prayers, and that I would not 
leave the fishing place till I had seen what success- 
There it w^as that 1 began to see more abundantly, the 
positive fruit of my labors. Sometimes, indeed, we had 
' toiled all night and c^tuglit nothing ; ' but then we had 
this satisfaction, ' the net had heen drawn ashore^'^ and 
we had done the best we could." 

" Come ye after me, and 1 will make you fishers of 
men" is a very noticeable and encouraging saying of 
our Lord to his ministers. In the way mentioned by this 
brother, or in some way other, in following up the truths 
delivered, in making effort after effort, giving line upon 
line, hoping and expecting that the concentration of 
Divine truth, bearing upon the sinners conscience, will, 
through the Holy Spirit, at length, be instrumental of his 
conversion, is agreeable to the word of God, and sound 
philosophy ; and this, too, in perfect agreement with the 
sovereignty of God ; which may have ordained such a 
course as the means whereby his gracious designs are to 
be accomplished. Although there may be frequent instan- 
ces where the faithful minister fails to witness the desired 
result of his labors, which failure may arise" from some 
cause, inscrutable to finite wisdom, yet, after unsuccess- 
ful, though faithful endeavors, we may have the consola- 
tion, once given to the prophet, " Though Israel be not 
gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the sight of the Lord ; " 
for consolation, sve say, if all probable means have been 
employed on our part for a successful issue of our labors. 
Yet this devoted minister of Christ, from morning till 
night, year in and year out, pondered upon the subject 
always nearest to his heart, with the deepest intensity of 
interest, even the salvation of his flock. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 117 

The truth of this assertion, none will dispute ; and 
who shall condemn hinn ? The ten thousand objects of 
earth, pursued by most with an ambition that never tires, 
had no charms for him. Their most urgent claims ho 
disputed, yea, he challenged — he silenced ; attent only 
to the voice of souls crying in his ears '' arise and call 
upon thy God, if so be Fie may think of us, that we 
perish not." And when you look at such a man, borne 
onward by an impetuous desire kindled at the altar of 
God, a self-martyred man for the sake of Christ and 
souls ; engaged in preaching, praying, warning, weep- 
ing, and as it were, dying to fulfil his high commision ; 
giving himself no rest unless he saw the successful result 
of his labors ; and with the settled conviction that earth 
with all its fairest promises, the m.aterial universe with 
all its splendid decorations and richest gems, in compar- 
ison with one immortal soul, was lighter than vanity, 
when weighed in the balance of the sanctuary ; can you 
wonder at the zeal he manifested in his great work ? 
and who will pronounce such an ardor unbecoming; or 
place it to the score of infirmities that needed the man- 
tle of charity ; that needed an apology ; that deserved 
the rebuke, which some have kindly, others, indignantly 
ofTered ? Did we believe that our pastor, while under 
the influence of such a zeal was merely writhing under 
a spasmodic, nervous excitement, or borne away by the 
illusions of the fanatic, that needed commiseration or 
restraint, that would make it necessary to say, " Pardon 
thy servant in this thing ? " 

We are well aware, if his letters and diary had not 
revealed the fact, how he agonized for a revival of relig- 
ion, and for the spiritual advancement of his church ; but 



lis RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

we never thought of attributing this earnestness to dis- 
ordered nerves, any more than we should pronounce the 
man mad, who, while ho stands upon some cliff that 
overlooks the ocean, and beholds the disabled wreck with 
the mariners clinging to its sides, exposed momentarily 
to the death-surge, with a concentrated agony of spirit 
in view of the impending danger, cries out, " can nothing 
be done for their rescue ? " In such a dangerous and 
alarming condition, Dr. Payson believed the impenitent 
world around him, to be. '* Knowing the terror of the 
Lord, we persuade men." This passage he felt; under 
its influence he wept and prayed and preached. Call it 
enthusiasm or fanaticism, nervousness or delirium, or 
what you will, in Dr. Payson ; equally will those terms 
apply to the Prophet when he exclaims, '' Oh, that my 
head 'were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, 
that I might weep day and night for the slain of the 
daughter of my people ; " or to the Apostle who said 
" I could wish myself accursed from Christ for my breth- 
ren's sake according to the flesh." Let us pray, rather, 
that such nervousness may come upon all of the Lord's 
ministers ; that many may yet be found among us weep- 
ing between the porch and the altar, saying " spare thy 
people, O Lord," or who can as truly adopt the declara- 
tion of Paul, " For ye know that for the space of three 
years I ceased not to warn every man night and day with 
tears." '' So will we give Thee thanks, thou Holy One 
of Israel." 

Thomas Scott, in a letter to a friend on this subject, 
remarks : '* The apostle Paul was evidently a man of 
strong passions and peculiar sensibility, and being, by 
Divine grace exceedingly filled with love to the Lord 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 119 

Jesus, and to the souls of men, his mind was affected 
with the most lively emotions of joy or sorrow, hope or 
fear, acccording to the tidings he received from the sev- 
eral churches of Christ. 

At one time he complains that he has no rest in his 
Jlesh, is filled with heaviness, and can no longer forlear, 
and that he writes out of much affliction^ with anguish of 
hearty and with many tears. At another, he declares he 
is filled with comfort^ and is exceedingly joyful in all his 
tribulations, being comforted by the faith of his beloved 
children^ for now^^ says he, ' ive live^ if ye stand fast in 
the Lord,'* " Mr. S. understands the Apostle, indeed, to 
intimate, that these were things that concerned his infir- 
mities ; and doubtless, he says, that this sanguine dis- 
position, requires much correction and regulation, by 
Divine grace ; but, when it is thus tempered and coun- 
terbalanced by proportionate humility, wisdom, patience 
and disinterestedness, it may be considered as the main- 
spring of a minister'' s activity. And as these united 
qualifications, certainly conduced very much to the 
Apostle's extraordinary usefulness, so they render his 
epistles peculiarly interesting to us, in all our inquiries 
concerning the best methods of promoting the enlarge- 
ment and edification of the church. 

** Thus were the infirmities of the Apostle overruled by 
Divine grace to subserve his comfort and usefulness. 
And the depth and variety of his sufferings proved the 
main-spring of his active labors in the service of his 
Master." 

We may not be sufficiently aware, how the varying 
circumstances of life, may require different dispensations 
in the wise appointment of God, in order to promote our 



120 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

spiritual interest, and our greatest usefulness. God 
places the bitter cup to the lips of some whom he is 
training up for usefulness and a higher reward. Some 
one remarks, and it well applies to Dr. Payson, that "ad- 
versity is often requisite, to give a proper direction and 
temper to strong qualitiesy God answers the prayers 
of some by '' terrible things in righteousness." 

The patient enduring will result in fruit unto eternal 
life ; and doubtless Dr. P. and others who have been led 
through deep and troubled waters, needed from the Wise 
Physician suoli a treatmemt, that they might understand 
that God was indeed dealing with them, and for what 
purpose. Their ^^ strong qualities'" required the strong 
hand, to " give them a proper direction and temper.". 
It has, perhaps, been thought by some, that Payson's pe- 
culiar experience, considering its dark and deep shades, 
was more to be deprecated than desired. It cannot be 
denied that it was terrible to suffer as he did ; yet we 
are not sure that such an experience, upon the whole, 
may not be fraught (taking the lights and shadows to- 
gether) with more enjoyment than that monotony in the 
experience of ordinary christians. 

As the splendid prize, which accompanies into port 
ihe ship that has borne the shock of the battle, will com- 
pensate for the perils of the encounter, so may it prove 
in the christian's conflict with the enemies of his soul. 
Plas the warfare been long and protracted, the more 
abundant will be the rewards of victory. Just as the 
tempest-tossed believer looks back upon the stormy ocean 
that threatened his ruin, will exult, with a more joyful 
triumph as he nears his desired haven. 

" Would that 1 could cling more closely to my Master, 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 121 

Would that in Him my sinking soul could rest ; 
Would that each shipwrecked hope, each new disaster, 
Might drive me closer to my Savior's breast.' 

The truth of our position, viz : that reward is attached 
to conflict, has been very clearly illustrated in the re- 
markable experience of Dr. Payson, both in his life and 
in his death. Long before he died, " he had received at 
the Lord's hands douUe for ail his sins." In life, " the 
peace of God that passeth all understanding; " at death, 
the foretaste of " unspeakable glory." 

Should it please God to send trials, severe and pro- 
tracted upon the christian, if with the dispensation He 
grants the kind assurance that He is present to watch 
over the gold passing through the seven times heated 
furnace, and that it is only a purifying process to make 
him holier, more useful, and thus to be the better pre- 
pared for heaven, shall he dispute the wisdom of the 
appointment? Thus did not Job, nor Daniel nor David. 
Thus did not David's greater Son and Lord, while drink- 
ing of the unmitigated cup of suffering appointed for 
him. Think not of Dr. Payson as of all men most mis- 
erable, although the " pains of hell got hold upon him." 
The lions' den, the heated furnace, and the whale's belly 
were terrible places to be in ; yet, he who comes from 
the den, to tell of lions, is also prepared to speak of 
His power, who shut their mouths. Or if from the fiery 
furnace, it is to tell of the Son of God who was with him 
there ; and if out of the " belly of hell " there cometh 
the erring fugitive, it is to tell to others that '' salvation 
is of the Lord." Bitterly as the christian mourns that 
his sins should render it necessary that he should come 
under the hidings of God's face, yet how dearly will he 



122 RECOLLECTIONS OF PATSON. 

prize the sunlight after a season of darkness. The hour 
of sacrifice and trial will bring with it Jehovah's uplift- 
ing and strengthening arm. The power of the second 
Adam will sustain the sinking believer when experienc- 
ing the dreadful sentence of the jFtrsf, ; a support emi- 
nently afforded to the suffering, yet triumphant Payson. 

Peter, sinking in the wave, only brings Christ nearer. 
The more severe the trial, the more conspicuous the 
grace which gives to the soul the power of endurance ; 
or seasonably removes the trial. 

Horrible as was the '' Castle of Giant Despair," yet 
Bunyan does not suffer his pilgrim to escape it when he 
would portray the perfect character of his christian, that 
he might/know that it was '^ an evil thing, and bitter, to 
depart from the living God," and feel forever afterwards 
his frailty and his dependence. 

THE CHARACTER OF DR. PAYSON's PIETY CONSIDERED. 

The character of Dr. Payson's piety has by many been 
considered as constituting his chief excellence as a minis- 
ter, and as almost the exclusive source of his popularity 
and success ; thereby virtually disputing our claims for 
him, as possessing superior intellectual endowments, to 
which in part we contend his eminence and success is 
to be attributed. If, then, so much stress is laid upon 
the fact that it is his piety which has advanced him so 
much above others as a minister, we think every doubt 
and naisgiving should be silenced with regard to its cha- 
racter. If piety has given him such a precedence and 
popularity, surely it must be of a genuine character, and 
possessed in a high degree. We regret to say, however, 
that by many, even his piety is undervalued. This opinion 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 123 

we well know arises from misapprehension or miscon- 
ception. These views did not obtain during his lifetime, 
at least except to a very limited extent, scarcely at all 
among his own people. That his piety was sincere and 
ardent but few are disposed to doubt. That it was of a 
healthy tone, and worthy of imitation, is a point which 
some have not so readily conceded. As a general re- 
mark, however, we say, fearlessly, that so far as the 
strictest integrity and purity of purpose, — a warm and 
unabating zeal in the service of Christ, — an extraordi- 
nary spirit of self-denial, humility and prayer are evincive 
of piety of an elevated and scriptural stamp, Payson's piety 
must be considered as such, and subject to no deduction, 
except what his constitutional temperament may demand. 
In a word his piety was scriptural, effective, constant, 
practical, symmetrical, winning, and condescending, — 
true to the pattern which descended from Heaven, des" 
cribed by the apostle. First pure, then gentle, peaceable, 
easy to be entreated ; full of mercy and good fruits, 
without partiality and without hypocrisy. Human 
infirmity, in him, (as in Bible saints, and eminent chris- 
tians in all ages,) had given a tinge to his religion, which, 
however, does not in him, or in the others just referred 
to, essentially detract from its genuineness, more than 
does an occasional spot upon the sun, or a dusky atmos- 
phere through which that body is sometimes viewed, 
change the nature of the sun, or lessen our admiration of 
its enlightening and fructifying rays. 

We say it is painful, though circumstances have made 
it necessary, to allude to this subject, it is vexatious in 
the extreme to hear that his piety has been subject ever 
to caricature, and by those too, from whom we should 
not have expected such remarks ; the tendency of 



124 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

which is calculated to lessea liis influence in the com- 
niunity, by casting a shade of reproach not only upon 
him, but upon evangelical piety itself. It does most 
solemnly behove his friends and the friends of true piety, 
openly to protest against such aspersions. Truth and 
justice demand it, as well as the dearest interests of 
religion. 

That the impenitent and worldly should be offended 
with his piety, accompanied as it was with so much 
scriptural preciseness and self-denial, and sacrifice, is not 
strange ; unacquainted as they must be with the spirit 
of evangelical religion. That the christian, even, who 
has had but a slight acquaintance with his own heart, and 
but an ordinary sense of his responsibility to God ; and 
of the immeasurable extent of that command, " Be ye 
holy for I am holy,'' should be unable fully to understand 
the several phases of Dr. Payson's spiritual life, as 
recorded in his diary and letters, is also to be expected. 

It is, moreover, obvious to remark, that the interior life 
of every individual, will partake, in a greater or less 
degree, of constitutional temperament, in its complexion 
and development. Surrounding circumstances also may 
have much to do in forming the character of the spiritual 
man. In defence of his piety, we assert that there was 
nothing of the ascetic, or of the fanatic belonging to it, 
or of the mere pietist. His was not the cloister religion, 
which entombed itself, or which suffered the soul it inha- 
bited to shrivel into the torpor of a dumb and inactive 
devotion. Devotional, in the highest and best sense of 
the word it was, yet the frequency of his visits to the 
heavenly world interrupted not his intercourse with the 
living world around him, but only quickened his steps in 
every effort of benevolence and mercy. A more active 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOxNT. 125 

or expansive, or well-directed good- will to man, relating 
either to their temporal or spiritual welfare, few have 
possessed. So far then as '' the tree is known by its 
fruits," we are prepared to pronounce favorably upon the 
character of his practical as well as personal piety. 

Again, let it be considered how peculiar was the 
structure of Dr. P.'s mind, — its keen perceptions, — its 
moral delicacy, ^ — its extreme sensitiveness, — and such 
a mind brought under the influence of a clear and impres- 
sive conviction of the demands and prohibitions of the 
divine law. Consider his views of the vast responsibility 
of the ministerial work, and the value of the sou], — the 
importance he attached to sincerity in religion, and the 
desirableness of obtaining an ^' assurance of hope," both 
for himself an I others ; an assurance which he would 
have based upon a close and thorough examination of the 
subject. Then reflect upon the uncommon measure of 
his trials, arising from the power of 'Mnbred sin," — 
himself a signal mark for the fiery darts of the wicked 
one. Let all this be borne in mind, and are we to wonder 
that his religious experience should be strongly marked, 
and peculiar in its complexion ? 

That any one could wish to have been in his place ; 
to have groaned under such manifold infirmities ; to 
have entered the field, and to have waged the combat 
with sin and satan, and disease, as he did, for the sake 
of the rewards of victory, is scarcely to be expected. 
What christian soldier but would have had his courage 
put to the severest test, on the day when such a proposal 
should be made. If, then, during the severity and long 
endurance of the struggle, he manfully buffeted the 
waves, faith and patience holding out even to the last, 
'by what name shall we call this noble encounter other 
6 



126 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

than heroic piety ; and this distressing experience con- 
stituted much of the character of Dr. Payson's religion. 
Not that his spiritual life was one of unbroken or un- 
ceasing conflict, for his lucid intervals of peace and joy 
ineffable, were more abundant tiian falls to the lot of 
ordinary christians. 

We have undertaken to show the individuality of Dr. 
P.'s piety — the characteristics essentially belonging to 
it ; and aUhough it may not establish either precedent or 
example for others under different circumstances, yet its 
peculiarity deserves not censure, nor because of that, is 
its genuineness or utility to be suspected or condemned. 
Who is prepared to say that the fruits of such sufferings 
w^ere not religion exemplified in its most exalted and no- 
blest development ? That, inwrought with his experi- 
ence there was an occasional gloom which might repre- 
sent his religion in a somewhat unlovely and undesirable 
aspect, we do not deny. Hence the occasion whicli some 
have taken to cavil or to stumble at it, unwilling to make 
the distinction between what belonged to the christian 
and what to the man. 

Let not the sombre cast of his piety be attributed to 
the grace of God, nor to the lack of it ; but let it be re- 
garded as arising in part, from constitutional tendencies, 
but chiefly from the peculiar dispensation under which 
God had placed him. '*If good men are sad," says an 
old writer, *' it is not because they are good^ but because 
they are not hetterC Let not the condemnatory sen- 
tence go forth from any if unable to account for the 
phenomena; but rather let it be acknowledged that there 
was a necessity in the case of this individual ; that he 
should suffer much that he might, eventually, rejoice the 
more ; and that God laid upon him a burden, for the ac- 



EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYBON, 127 

complishment of some gracious design, towards him ; or 
for the special benefit of the church at large. This 
conclusion is in agreement with his own views on the 
subject^of discipline, as he once remarked when God 
had bereaved him of a dear child, that '' the chastening 
was probably for the benefit of his church.'' 

Dr. Payson's day has gone by, and much of the re- 
ligion peculiar to it lias, we fear, gone with it. A reli- 
gion, the prominent features of which, and its influence 
upon himself and his church, and the community, gen- 
erally, we have attempted to describe, and which in most 
respects, exerted a healthful and salutary influence. 
That it was of a truly evangelical and revival character, 
none can deny, who witnessed it. With few intermis- 
sions, a mioderate revival was enjoyed durnig his entire 
mjnistry. Nor was the tendency of his preaching or 
example to make men misanthropes. It blocked up no 
avenue in the way to honorable preferment in society. 
It countenanced no incendiary attack upon public insti- 
tutions, or men, or measures. It frowned upon no inno- 
cent amusement. It was most friendly to every measure 
conducive to the education of youth, to the quiet of 
.neighborhoods, and to the soundest patriotism ; yet, at 
the same time, did it proclaim as from heaven, the par- 
amount value of a treasure in the skies, and the import- 
ance of using every possible means of obtaining it, and 
at whatever effort or sacrifice. 

Eminent examples of whatever was fair, and honora- 
ble, and lovely, and of good report, in public or private 
life, were found among his people ; lives read and known 
of all men, both then and now. 

Dr. Payson's religious instructions did not spoil his 
people. They were not transformed into boors. The 



128 RECOLLF.CTIONS OF PAYSON. 

adornments of intellectual culture, the kind reciprocities 
of social life, received no check from him either by pre- 
cept or example. The professional man still shone in 
his profession. The mechanic still toiled on in his in- 
dustry ; the merchant carried the principles of his re- 
ligion into the counting-house, and was an honest man at 
his ledger ; the ship-master remembered the worship of 
the sanctuary, amid the calms and storms of the ocean, 
or the temptations of a foreign land. Many a beloved 
member of his flock treasured up his counsels for reflec- 
tion and comfort, who, when called in Providence to 
sojourn in some distant part of the land, finds ^' how 
sweet their memoiy still ; " and who now are able to 
gratify many a delighted listener who had known Dr. 
Payson only by report, with the recital of their pastor's 
virtues.* 

The matron, who had been feasted with spiritual food 
from her pastor on the Sabbath, felt its strengthening 
influence during the week, as she toiled amid her domes- 
tic cares, as she rocked the cradle of her sleeping infant, 
or hushed its cries upon her bosom. That child, deal to 
her heart, yesterday baptized by her beloved pastor, she 
baptized afresh with her tears of grateful piety, saying 
in her inmost prayer to God, " Oh, that Ishmael might 



*NoTE. In a recent conversation with a very respectable lady, 
(once a member of his church) upon Dr. Pnyson's character and 
influence, she remarked to the writer, '• While I resided at the 
far South, one day two young ladies, pious and accomplished, who 
lived two hundred miles away in the interior of the state, were 
visiting at our house. They had heard much of Dr. P., and had 
been delighted with his writinofs. By some means, having heard 
that I came from Portland, and v\'as acquainted with him, and had 
heard him preach, they became exceedingly interested in all that 
I could say about a man of \yhose character they had formed so 
exalted an opiniofj, 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 129 

live before Thee." And that child, and many such, 
nursed in the arms of piety, did live, do live, — now 
'' plants of renown ; " ornaments of the church of the 
living God. 

Be sure it was an insinuative piety, like the '' dew of 
herbs,'* and showers upon the tender grass, that penetrat- 
ed every recess of the heart. 

Was it not a guiding star to the young ? Did it not 
sit gracefully and intelligently upon manhood's early 
prime ? It smoothed and sobered the decline of life ; 
shed its radiant light, and exerted its overcoming power 
in the chamber of death. 

Such was the character of Dr. Payson's religion. 
Who will say it was not a model worthy of imitation for 
his own times, and for any times, inculcating as it did 
" whatsoever things were pure and lovely, and of good 
report." 

The foregoing remarks were intended to explain and 
defend the character of Dr. Payson's piety, Is it still 
inquired, " Was his piety of a healthy tone, and desira- 
ble in itself ? We further remark that if it had a ten- 
dency to repress intellectual and spiritual pride, to 
ipcrease humility, to awaken a deeper sympathy for aa 
impenitent world, it was desirable ; and although acute 
mental sufferings accompanied it, yet, terminating as 
they did in a successful issue, and affording consolation 
to others in similar circumstances of doubt and darkness, 
as it certainly has done, and will do, we must regard it 
as a valuable piety. Or, if such piety thus strongly 
marked, created a holy atmosphere around him, and gave 
uncommon eflicacy to his instructions ; if the savor of it 
still lives in the memory and in the hearts of thousands, 
and as we believe, will to distant generations, must it not 



130 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYS0:N'. 

be of a desirable stamp ? To condemn it, therefore, or 
suspect its genuineness or its tendency, although mingled 
with some things of an infelicitous character, would be 
to speak against the operations of the Holy Ghost, by 
whose agency, we believe, it was kindled in his soul. 

It is said, " we wish for a cheerful piety, and Dr. Pay- 
son's was not such ; there is enough in the Gospel to 
constitute a cheerful piety." Wo readily grant it. There 
is everything of joy and consolation and hope there. A 
celestial paradise brightens upon the eye of fViith, and 
we hope one day to walk its golden streets, and pluck 
its immortal fruits. But was Payson a stranger to such 
delightful anticipations ? Was he favored with no Pisgah 
views of the delectable mountains? Did anyone more 
frequently than he, or v/ith a keener relish, drink from 
the wells of salvation ? Does he record a momentary 
suspension of Divine influences, an interception of the 
the glorious sunshine of heaven ? It proves hov/ much 
he valued them. A sense of his own sins, or those of 
others, may have had a tendency to produce an occa- 
sional, though partial and transient eclipse. Amid the 
joys and triumphs, belonging to his own experience, he 
could not but have his heart saddened at times, with 
thoughts of a ^* world lying in wickedness.'"' Was his a 
solitary example of this kind ? Ask the psalmist why, 
at times, his flowing tears ; the weeping prophet, why 
his strains of lamentation ; the Son of God why his ten- 
derest yearnings over Jerusalem ? or the holiest and 
dearest of God's saints in every age, why they have 
sometimes been clothed in sackcloth ? They have felt 
for the dishonor cast upon God and his law, and '*' rivers 
of waters ran down their eyes ; " or they have " seen the 
end of the wicked ;" and was there nothincr in all these 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 131 

things to affect the heart of ingenuous piety ? nothing, 
partially, at least, to dim the radiance of that sunlight 
which shines round about the path of God's saints. 
And there are wounds inflicted upon the heart of the 
sincerest piety, from many other causes, which cannot 
fail to mar the joy of the christian, privileged as he is, 
yea, assured as he is of his own acceptance with God : 
assurances, however, which will not prevent the falling 
tear over the miseries of man, or ease the aching heart. 
The sources of the christian's joy or grief, the world do 
not understand. The subject presents an enigma be- 
yond their power to solve ; yet understood by the chris- 
tian, in proportion to the depth and extent of his spiritual 
experience- 



CHAPTER X. 

His weekly meetings for inquirers. — Cliurch. — Fasts.— Conference 
and prayer meetings. — Incidents communicated by a corres- 
pondent. — Communion seasons. 

We shall now accompany our pastor to the 

INQUIRY BIEETING. 

The writer was well acquauited with his manner of 
conducting these meetings during the earlier part of his 
ministry, being often present. 

The company assembled in a large private parlor, 
(when the meetings were first estabhshed) which was 
crowded with the anxious, under different stages of con- 
viction. Dr. Pay son would seat himself by the side of 
each one in rotation, and in a low and inexpressibly ten- 
der and affectionate manner, inquire into the peculiar 
state of their feelings, to know what changes had been 
produced, since he last conversed with them ; thereby 
ascertaining whether their special case required encour- 
agement, or a more pungent application of the truth to 
the conscience. These meetings were as still as the 
house of death. Seldom was there one present, whose 
spirit was not lacerated and crushed with a sense of 
guilt, or who had not just emerged from spiritual death 
into the unspeakable joy of the new life in Christ. 

In these meetings there was nothing formal ; even as 



EECOLLECTIONS OF FAYSON. 133 

to the reading of the Scriptures, or exhortation, as at 
other nneetings, except it might be, occasionally, a few 
general remarks at the close of the meeting ; nothing 
exciting, such as singing, or anything that would serve 
to divert the attention from the specific object of their 
coming together ; nothing for the purpose of mere out- 
ward effect. The season was devoted to an inquiry into 
the state of each anxious or doubting individual, and the 
rendering, on the part of the pastor, that kind and sympa- 
thetic aid which their several cases demanded, and which 
his own experience, and knowledge of the heart, ena- 
bled him so ably and successfully to impart. A short 
and impressive prayer closed the interview. 

Those seasons, and that *' room," long occupied by 
anxious inquirers, will live in the recollections of very 
many, as the witnesses of deep anxie.y, and of peniten- 
tial and grateful tears — as the birth-place of their first 
holy emotions and purposes — it will be reverted to as 
the commencement of a spiritual life, that through 
Divine grace is seen developing in its progress the power 
of faith and love, down to this day, as exemplified in a 
humble and devoted christian life. 

That '' room," so kindly opened, and the scenes it 
witnessed, together with its humble proprietors, and the 
numerous inmates of the family, who were the willing 
fellow-laborers with their pastor, in the good work, most 
of whom are gone to their reward, will be had in affec- 
tionate and enduring remembrance. 

Forty years have borne to tomb many of the loved 
of his flock ; while some who were with him, young in 
their raven locks, now " changed to sober gray," still 
live, though bearing evidence that their pilgrimage must 
close at no distant period. 
6* 



13-4 r::collectio^'3 or payson. 

Later in his ministry, Dr. Pcayson adopted a somewhat 
different course of instruction with inquirers. He held 
meetings of a more public nature in the vestry, where he 
would meet any whose minds were awakened, though 
but slightly, when his remarks would be of a more gene- 
ral character. Perhaps none of his special meetings on the 
week-days were of more general utility, than these or 
drew so largely upon his mental resources, his experi- 
ence, and powers of logic and illustration, in order to 
meet' the variety of cases of persons in different stages of 
religious inquiry, whom he supposed might be present. 

Many of the strikingly beautiful thoughts of compari- 
son and illustration, aftervv^ards published, were doubtless 
first conceived and uttered on these occasions. Meetings 
for the benefit of inquirers, were also held at the dwellings 
of some of his church members, conducted by the brethren 
who were experienced in these matters. This proved a 
pleasant and profitable exercise for those who conducted 
them, besides lessening the labors of the pastor. 

Remarks a respected christian brother, who was in the 
habit of attending Dr. Payson's meetings for religious 
instruction, v»^hich w^ere held at his own house — "The 
young men in town were exceedingly attached to him, 
and always deeply interested in his remarks. They 
would throng his house from all quarters, and they were 
from different religious societies, and glad to avail them- 
selves of the privilege. How natural to imagine what a 
precious deposit of truth was thereby lodged in these 
opening minds; some, probably, sown among thorns, 
much of which, however, has doubtless proved like good 
seed, springing up to eternal life.'' 

In reference to the meetings for young men, a corres- 
pondent remarks, — '^ I remember a remark he made in his 



EECOLLECTIOKS OF PAYSOXo 135 

meetings for conversation with young men, of which I 
can give the substance. I think those who heard it may 
Recall the circumstances. If the impression was as vivid 
as on my own mind, they cannot have forgotten the 
evening nor the incident. He was illustrating the diffi- 
culties in the way of the sinner's coming to Christ, and 
the necessity of striving to enter in at the straight gate. 
He related a dream ; remarking, that, though the idea 
of making dreams the rule of life, or giving them a super- 
natural character, was wholly unfounded and ridiculous, 
yet it was by no means impossible or unreasonable that 
the great Author of mind might address man in " visions 
of the night," and make such impressions on the soul 
during sleep, as should further his gracious purposes. 
There was an estimable and amiable lady in his parish, 
who, for several years, had shown considerable interest 
in religious subjects, especially those that related to her 
own personal experience, but had never felt such a degree 
of assurance in her acceptance with God, as to unite with 
the visible church. She sought frequent opportunities to 
converse with him, but seemed to make no progress, 
remaining still in alternate hope and fear. She was ever 
seeking stronger evidence of her christian character, and 
for clearer light in the path of duty, but she found it not. 
One night she had a remarkable dream. The scene was 
laid in her native town. She was slowly walking the 
street, leading a little child by the hand. Her mjind was 
engaged in the all-absorbing question of her acceptance 
with God. H^er doubts, her difficulties, her anxieties 
were all presented to her view. As she thus walked 
slowly on in deep thought, some one met her, and told 
her that Jesus Christ was in town. She earnestly inquired 
where he might be found. The spot pointed out was at 



136 RECOLLECTIONS OF PaYSON. 

some distance from the street in which she was walking. 
She, however, hastened on, still holding on to the little 
child. She marked the appearance of the people as she 
passed. But few seemed to be seeking the Savior. The 
great multitude were pursuing their business or pleasure, 
as eao-erly as before the heavenly stranger came among 
them. She, however, hastened on, but was delayed at 
every step by the little child she was leading. She could 
not for a time let go its hands, but at length her anxiety 
became so great, that she left the child and ran unimpeded 
to meet the Savior. When she came to the spot, there 
was a multitude around him, and she had to push her way 
through, before she could reach his feet. He smiled 
upon her, as she approached, and took her by the hand 
with words of welcome. Then she was full of peace, — 
her doubts and fears all were gone. She sat some time 
enjoying his teachings, her eye constantly fixed on him, 
and her hands clasped in his, — her heart fixed on Christ 
alone. But aft(ir a while her eyes turned away, — she 
loosed her grasp on his hand, — she was gazing round 
in the crowd and watching the faces of the multitude. 
She, at length, observes, coming up on the other side, a 
hideous dragon, threatening to devour her. Trembling, 
she clung to the Savior, but his face was turned away. 
She looked around in fear and the monster came nearer. 
She was then ready to despair, and sought to lay hold 
of the Savior's hands, but in vain. In terror she seized 
the skirt of his garments, and he turned and smiled upon 
her, and her fears vanished. Upon this she awoke, and 
her mind, from that night, was strong in the faith of 
Christ. She lived in the blessed hope, and died in the 
calm assurance of acceptance by redeeming blood. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 137 

'' You can imagine, better than I can write, how Payson 
illustrated the phases of Christian experience by this 
dream. The presence of Christ in town illustrated his 
visits in seasons of repenting. The indifference of the 
multitude found its parallel in the conduct of the world 
in God's hours of mercy. The lady was an example of 
one, seeking Jesus. The desire to find him, the obstacles 
that hindered her approach, are found in the case of 
every returning penitent. The little child retarded her 
steps, yet she was unwilling to give it up. So the sinner 
finds some worldly object holding him back, yet he 
is reluctant to break away from it. Her increasing and 
all-absorbing anxiety of spirit was shown by her breaking 
away from that child, and running to meet Jesus. So the 
burdened sinner shakes off every hindrance, and flies to 
the Savior. Then the welcome reception, — the sweet 
voice of mercy, — the unchanging fixedness of attention 
to every word, — all these indicate the hour of " first 
love." The subsequent distraction of mind, and its con- 
sequeut fears, picture the relapsed state of religious feel- 
ing, and the doubts that darken the soul when the Savior's 
countenance is withdrawn. The smile of Jesus, and the 
joy enkindled by it, are the pardon granted to the return- 
ing penitent, and the blessedness of forgiven sin. The 
whole lesson, (and how warmly and eloquently Payson 
enforced it,) is ' Seek Christ earnestly, — cleave to him 
closely, — and he will drive all fears and doubts away.' 
I often recur to the impressions of that evening, as giving 
in one vivid picture, the full experience of a soul seeking, 
finding, and abiding in Christ." E. F. C. 



i3S RECOLLFXTIONS OF PAYSON. 



QUARTERLY FASTS. 



These were held usually on the Friday before commun- 
ion, in the vestry of the church. They occupied a few 
hours, commencing usually about eleven o'clock, A. M., 
and with a short intermission closing at three or four. 
They were never so protracted as to render the service 
tedious, yet the deep feeling which they elicited, was 
sometimes exhausting to the outward man. 

It need scarcely be said that these seasons proved a 
source of uTiCommon religious enjoyment. No one who 
attended, v/ilh a right spirit, could fail to be quickened 
and greatly edified by them, or could ever forget, or 
think lightly of them. They were seasons of spiritual 
feasting, when the church were fed with '* marrow and 
fatness."" 

The pastor, when present, always presided, — the 
brethren taking their several parts in the exercises. One 
brother after anotheV, usually commencing with the officers 
of the church, would either read a hymn, or lead in prayer. 
A portion of scripture was then read by one of us, leaving 
it with the pastor to remark upon the passage. This 
respect and deference he always received at all similar 
meetings of the church. On these social occasions, no 
one was disposed '' to take this honor upon himself- but he 
who was called of God as was Aaron.'' 

Everything earthly seemed to dwindle into comparative 
insignificance, then 

"What little thiDgs these worlds would be/' 

as faith, growing stronger and stroncrer, would brincj 
heaven down lo our view. Never did Heaven seem so 
near, or spiritual glories assume such a deep reality, as 



EEC0LLECTI0N3 OF PAYSON, 139 

when present at these meetings ; in comparison with 
which, no other occasions at that time, and no religious 
seasons of any description, since, have ever seemed like 
them in interest, or engraven upon the heart such vivid 
impressions of eternal objects. 

No length of time can efface the remembrance of the 
scenes we there witnessed. Meet any of Dr. Pay son's old 
church miembers, even at this late period ; speak to them 
in reference to these special fasts, and you awaken rem- 
iniscences, which are as grateful to the heart, as "odors 
shaken from an angel's wing." They come over the 
memory as the music of an ^olian harp. The language 
of one who enjoyed these scenes is the language of all, 
A lady who was once a member of Dr. Payson's churchy 
to whom the writer had intimated his design of making 
some reference in this way, to these quarterly fasts, 
remarked that ''she wondered that no account of them had 
ever been published before." 

Especially was the act o^ renewing Covenant with God, 
which usually concluded the exercises of the fast, of a 
most solemn and impressive charactnr. No hypocrite 
could live in that room then. Die he must, with all his 
false hopes upon him, or arise with God's people, and 
'' like a penitent, stand and confess his sin." 

These meetings, as it may well be supposed, were 
seasons of misgiving, heart-searching and solemn resolu- 
tions, and entire consecration to God. We gave our- 
selves up to the potent influence with which the Holy 
Spirit seemed to surround us. We came in more fully 
and delightfully into the fellowship of the Spirit ; we felt 
the bonds of the everlasting covenant drawing us not only 
nearer to God, but to one another. It was the communion 
of saints, as near like to that above as we can expect to 



i40 RECCLLECTIOXS OF PAYSON. 

^nd on earth. In this act of renewed consecration to God- 
such confessions of sin as were made by our pastor in his 
characteristic, self-abasing language, and with such 
minute specification, and poured forth from his deeply 
affected heart, could scarcely fail to melt his church into 
penitence and love ; while his fervent supplications for 
grace to enable them to maintain a closer walk with God ; 
to go forth by the way of the cross to duty and to conflict, 
could scarcely fail of a gracious answer. 

These seasons, while zee had the privilege of attending 
them, never diminished in interest, or became formal, in 
any marked degree. They were not only intensely de- 
tional, and occasions of much spiritual enjoyment, but 
they were practical in their tendency, — promotive of 
holiness of heart and life in the members, — apd of shed- 
ding a savor of piety in the families and neighborhoods to 
which they respectively belonged. 

His public Thursday evening lectures have already 
been alluded to ; they v/ere seldom omitted. A regular 
weekly meeting for conference and prayer was held in 
the vestry of his church, which he frequently attended. 
Like all other meetmgs where his presence was enjoyed, 
they were occasions of great interest. If he took a text 
to remark upon, or selected a portion of scripture to 
expound, the same characteristic spirit pervaded the whole 
exercise, as v/as observable in all his written and unwritten 
.effusions. 

It is obvious to remark that the members of any church 
(unconsciously perhaps to themselves,) are prone to 
imitate the style of their pastor in his spiritual exercises, 
especially in that of prayer. In a limited degree this was 
apparent in the members of Dr. Payson's church. They 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOK. 141 

caught a portion of his devotional spirit, so that strangers 
would see at once on hearing them pray, that they had 
been brought up at the feet of this " master in Israel"* 
Yet a thorough and successful imitation was beyond the 
reach of any mortal man, for, as has been truly said,— 
'' Who ever prayed like Payson ?" 

Seasons of communion at the Lord's table, as may be 
supposed, were much accounted of by him v/ho was so 
tenderly alive to the value of the Savior's special visits. 
And in him, who brake to us the bread, and poured forth 
the emblem of a Savior's blood, we saw (as is seldom 
seen on such occasions,) the concentration of deep and 
holy thoughts ; faith, in its clearest and boldest exhibi- 



^ Note. A young lady from abroad who had heard much of 
Dr. Payson's eminent piety, once accompanied a member of his 
church to prayer meeting, (this was several years after Dr. Payson's 
death,) where she heard several individuals lead in prayer. On 
returning from meeting, she inquired of her friend " if those who 
offered prayer v/ere not Dr. Payson's converts." Being answered 
in the affirmative, "I thought so," said she, "from the peculiarly 
solemn manner in which they prayed." The resemblance here 
alluded to is not attributable to any improper desire or effort, on 
the part of his church-members to apjyear like Dr. Payson^ but 
was the natural result of having drunk into the spirit of the 
humbling doctrines he preached, by which their views had become 
in a measure assimilated to his. Something of his manner, more- 
over, may have become unintentionally impressed upon them. 

'' If 1 should ever pray," a man was once overheard to say, " I 
should wish to pray like Payson." "He seems to me," said 
another, "as a medium through which the Holy Ghost speaks." 
And why should not such remarks be made respecting his pra3''ers ? 
To pray like him, requires a basis of enlarged and elevated con- 
ceptions of the hoHness of God, and a consequent deeper humiha- 
tion of soul and self-abasement than is ordinarily possessed by 
christians or ministers. "For what man knoweth the things of a 
man save the spirit that is in him. Even so the things of God, 
knoweth no man but the Spirit of God." Yet the ''abundant 
revelations," as in the Apostle's case, so in a measure in Dr, 
Payson's required '' a thorn in the flesh," a messenger from Satan, 
to buffet him ; a dispensation from God which they both felt 
to be necessary to their dying day. 



142 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

tion, coupled with iiumility and penitential care. There 
was no mysticisra about it ; yet he made the service a 
N'-ery solemn one. " Christ, crucified," his most delight- 
ful theme, from one Sabbath to another, was made to hold 
a more conspicuous place in his remarks on these occas- 
ions ; while his close and searching inquiries to the 
communicants — touching their own peculiar feelings 
towards Christ, (which are to be considered truly, as the 
grand test of discipleship,) often awakened a salutary * 
fear respecting our good estate ; yet, were his remarks 
eminently conducive to our spiritual benefit. The ques- 
tion of our Lord to Peter, pressed home upon the con- 
science — '' Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me " — we 
could not wave, and it was our ov/n fault, if a considera- 
tion of the question, did not, either convict us of hypoc- 
risy, or result in a hope, so that we could sincerely adopt 
the answer of that disciple. He had not the blind 
credulity of the Papist, yet he would have all of Christ 
present on such occasions which it was possible for a 
chastened imagination and a strong scriptural faith to 
bring down from heaven. And if ever Christ was 
shadowed forth and embodied in this sacred ordinance, 
it was when the precious emblems had been consecrated 
by the faith and prayer of our beloved pastor. Not- 
withstanding the searching scrutiny observed at these 
seasons, the humble and penitent had nothing to dread. 
A spirit of the tenderest sympathy was diffused over the -* 
whole scene. The humble and sincere communicant 
retired with a strengthened hope, and if with a trembling, 
yet was it a more confiding hold upon his Savior, and 
with a deeper impression of the grand realities of religion 
and eternity ; a result which always followed his faithful 
vet tender remarks. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 143 

Writes one, '' I became connected with his church on 
the last Sabbath that he entered the sanctuar}^ I well 
remember his appearance that day, his emaciated frame 
and feeble step ; but his spirit and voice were all un- 
touched by disease, as he welcomed us to the commun- 
ion of the body and blood of Christ. That scene wil} 
never fade from the memory. It must always be associ- 
ated, in my mind, with Dr. Payson's triumphant death." 

E. F. a 



CHAPTER XL 

Other special qualities of Dr. Payson, as a pastor. — His eminence 
as a spiritual anatomist. — His tenderness for the weak of his 
flock. — An instance in point. — Yet, very faithful in giving re- 
buke when needed. — Examples. — His freedom from eccentric- 
ity. — His hatred to it in others. — An anecdote. 

His profound self-knowledge gave him vast power and 
adroitness in scanning the character of others. He was 
entirely at home in this most valuable kind of ministerial 
tact. 

As he who has thoroughly and minutely examined the 
internal mechanism of a siugle watch, derives a far more 
accurate insight into its structure and movements than he 
who transiently gazes at a thousand in the shop-window 
of the manufacturer, so he, who under the deep and 
complicated vicissitudes of the spiritual life has been 
compelled to take special cognizance of the workings of 
his ov/n heart, is thereby belter qualified than the mere 
superficial observer, to analyze the hearts of others. 
Perhaps no experience of tribulation or temptation, could 
be mentioned to him by any distressed believer, but he 
could say, '' I have been there before you ; you have not 
trodden the wine-press alone." 

Dr. Cummings, the compiler of " Payson's Memoir,'' 
recently remarked to the writer, in substance, that, 
'^ from high authority, the expediency of his giving pub- 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 145 

licity to those direful passages respecting Pa^/son's ex- 
perience, was questioned, if not condemned. '^ Yet the 
judgement of Dr. Cummings, in this matter, has been 
found to be judicious, from the abundant testimony we 
have, that persons under similar trials with Dr. Payson, 
have derived great benefit from this part of his published 
experience. "^ 

Painful as it is, to read of the trials, conflicts and 
temptations, and the out-break of the heart's corruptions, 
even of the Bible-saints, yet the record affords Ftympathy 
and encouragement to the down-cast believer of every 
age ; indeed, such examples often afford him the only 
hope he has that he can be a child of God. In all their 
heart-troubles, they might repair to their pastor with an 
assurance, that so far as human ability and sympathy could 
avail, they would receive such direction and relief from 
his words, as would light up in their souls the dying lamp 
of hope, and send them on their way, humbly rejoicing. 

" It is therefore of unspeakable importance," says an 
eminent tDivine, " that ministers of the Gospel, who have 
to deal with diseased consciences should have had some 
experience themselves in these matters. This, no doubt 
is one reason, why some intended to be " sons of conso- 
lation " to others, have been brought through deep wa- 
ters, and have been buffetted by many storms, before 
they obtained a settled peace of mind. It is a proper 



^NoTE. " Now when they were gone over the stile," says 
Bnnyan, '* they began to contrive with themselves, what they 
should do at that stile, to prevent others who should come after 
from falling into the hands of Giant Despair — and they wrote, — 
over this stile is the way to Doubting Castle, — many therefore, that 
followed after, read what was written, and escaped the danger." 
^Pil. Prog. 

\ Dr. Alexander, on Religous Experience, page 52. 



116 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOX. 

ohject of inquiry, wliy^ in our day^ so little is heard about 
the spiritual troubles^ of which we read so much in the 
casuistical treatises of icriters of a former age. It can 
scarcely be supposed that the faith of modern christians 
is so much stronger than that of believers who lived in 
other days, that they are enabled easily to triumph over 
their melancholy fears and despondency. Neither can 
we suppose that Satan is less busy in casting his fiery 
darts, and in his attempts to drive the children of God to 
despair. There is reason to fear, that among christians 
of the present time, there is less deep spiritual exercise, 
than in former days ; and as little is said on this subject 
in public discourses, there may be greater concealment 
of the troubles of this kind, than if these subjects were 
more frequently discussed." 

It would be judged superhuman and contrary to all an- 
alogy or precedent, to expect that any pastor may not be 
liable to be deceived, or to misjudge respecting the spir- 
itual concerns of his flock. Yet we feel a becoming 
confidence in asserting that, with Dr. P.'s knowledge of 
the Scriptures, and his deep personal experience in the 
things of God, he was better qualified than most others, 
in deciding upon tha character of the impenitent under 
different stages of conviction, or of the hopeful new 
convert just emerging from darkness, or of a christian in 
an advanced state, under the hidings of God's face, or 
astray from the fold. The method he pursued with 
different characters was always judicious. Fie made not 
his own experience the sole standard by which he judged 
of others, on whose hearts, perhaps, the lines of the 
Spirit's work might have been less distinctly drawn. He 
w^as governed in practice by the New Testament rule : 
" There are many diversities of the same spirit, but it is 
the same God who worketh all in all." 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 147 

He cherished hope respecting any one in whom he 
could discern the faintest evidence of the spirit of humility 
and penitence. After preaching from Ezekiel34: 16^ 
— ''1 will seek that which was lost, and bring again that 
which was driven away, and will bind up that which was 
broken, and will strengthen that which was sick ; but I 
will destroy the fat and the strong, I will feed them with 
judgment," a member of his church went to him express- 
ing her fears with respect to the genuineness of her chris- 
tian hope. He replied, '' No matter what you are, if you 
are not one of the fat and the strong^'''* i. e.^among the 
self-confident and self-dependent. 

Yet in his ministry, he w^as faithful to the souls of his 
people. If the hypocrite held on to his hope, it was in 
spite of admonitions as pungent as ever issued from the 
pulpit. Deep indeed must have been the spiritual lethargy 
of that professor who could slumber under his searching 
ministry. If spiritual life did not revive in any individual 
of his church, there was sad evidence of a " tree twice 
dead, plucked up by the roots." By his close dealing 
with his church, when he first came to them, many pro- 
fessors had their hopes shaken ; some had them destroyed 
altogether. Yet no one loved him less for this seeming 
severity. Like the rod in the hand of a faithful yet 
affectionate parent, it fell, accompanied with the sympathy 
and tears of him who held it. We felt that the reproof 
was a part of the discipline we needed ; as only '' an 
excellent oil that shall not break my head." 

*'IIe chid our wanderings, but relieved our pains." 

His addiesses to tlie impenitent, no less than to the 
church, were impregnated with so much genuine affection, 
that their tendency was to melt, rather than to exasperate. 



14S RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOX. 

Himself " a stricken deer, hit by the archers," often 
bleeding arKl smc^rting under a wounded spirit, he tenderly 
dealt with those who needed the knife or the caustic. 

The reproof needfij] he did not withhold when occasion 
required it. He was a safe pattern to follow in adminis- 
tering reproof. The writer once had the blessing of sit- 
ting for one from him. The manner in which it was 
given was so kind and affectionate, yet manly and chris- 
tian, that as a model or a chasteninor it never need be 
forgotten. The following instance of his faithfulness in 
reproving a young lady, — a delinquent church-member, — 
has been related to me by one who was acquainted with 
the fact. 

Owing to some change of her position in society, the 
lady referred to had absented herself from public worship 
and other meetings of the church. Dr. Payson was aware 
of her criminal neglect in this respect, but owing to the 
inconvenience of seeing her alone, he had no opportunity 
to converse with her. He was one day passing along the 
street, (probably a retired one,) and noticed a female 
approaching him, w^hom he soon perceived to be the 
absentee. He kept his eye upon her, but soon found 
that she was crossing over to the opposite side of the 
street, for she had recognized him, and with a conscience 
ill at ease, was rather disposed to avoid an interview with 
her pastor. Nothing daunted, however, and somewhat 
indecorous or ungallan^ as it might appear. Dr. P. 
choosing to meet her on her own ground, crossed over, 
so that a collision (harmless though it were,) must 
inevitably take place, and there seemed no help for the 
lady delinquent. The language of Ahab to the prophet^ 
— "Hast thou found me, O mine enemy," might very 
probably have been in agreement with her feelings at 



EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 149 

that moment. But she was caught. They met. Said 
Dr. Payson, accosting her, " Is it possible that it has 
come to this, that you crossed over the street just now to 
escape an interview with me ?" " I could not utter a 
falsehood," said she to the person who related the inci- 
dent to me ; I confessed it to be as he had conjectured. 
It was an awkward predicament in which they both were 
placed, and unpleasant feelings doubtless arose in their 
minds, and yet the happiest results would be likely to 
follow ; to him the satisfaction of having performed an 
unpleasant duty, and to her, a recovery from the path of 
error. His street-preaching in this case might be more 
effectual than twenty sermons from the pulpit. The 
seed sown by the way-side, Satan does not always pick 
up. He promised to call at her house. 

Eccentricity, he had none himself, and he despised it 
in others. It is not asserted that he did not possess 
strong peculiarities, and marked and distinctive traits of 
character, resoluteness in purpose, and perseverance in 
the right, when his mind v/as once made up. Such a 
mind as his must possess these sterling, heart-of-oak 
qualities. Yet that affectation of superior wisdom, which 
manifests itself in freaks of oddity ; to show off opinion, 
or to bespeak self-importance ; even to be as much 
unlike other people as possible, in order to court noto- 
riety, and applause, (sometimes seen in ministers of 
decided piety), Dr. Payson equally avoided and detested. 

A good minister of Jesus Christ, although noted for 
his eccentricity, on a journey, called at the house of Mr. 
Payson, (as was more customary in those days than now,) 
for entertainment. He had spent the night, but early in 
the morning, arose and went out, probably to obtain his 
breakfast elsewhere. This, what might be considered as 
7 



150 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

rather heterodox, or a violation of ministerial etiquette, 
met, of course, the decided disapproval of his host. 

When he returned, Mr. Payson said to him, good-na- 
turedly, no doubt, '' Sit down, sir, and I will tell you 
how odd you are." We are not informed of all that fol- 
lowed from the reproof so well deserved, and coming 
from so distinguished a person, but we are willing to be- 
lieve that this '' righteous smiting'' was of essential benefit 
to the young ministerial brother. 



. CHAPTEE XII. 

His conversational powers — His prolific mental resources~Dr 
Cheever's remarks — He sought no monopoly in the social circle. 
The strong attachment of his people not lessened by time nor. 
circumstances. 

" Imagination," remarks Dr. Johnson, '' is to place 
things in such views as they are not commonly seen in— 
a wilderness of thought in which the fertility of fancy 
scatters flowers of every hue and of every odor." 

Dr. Payson was conversable and sufficiently familiar 
on all suitable subjects and occasions ; but not voluble or 
talkative. Pie no more had words nor thoughts to throw 
away, than time. 

His sermons abounded with splendid descriptions and 
illustrations, but in common anecdotic remarks, he seldom 
indulged, in any of his public performances ; although he 
could sometimes amuse you by relating an anecdote in 
conversation. 

He possessed, in a very high degree of perfection, the 
qualities that constitute the full, the correct and the ready 
man ; and no one was more adroit in wielding the power 
these qualities conferred, or in employing it to a more 
valuable purpose. 

Although he was naturally unobtrusive and exceeding- 
ly diffident, yet when occasion demanded, he was equal 
to the emergency, and was always the willing and able 
champion of truth ; although not the noisy declaimer, 



152 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

waiting for an opportunity as a gladiator, or as a boxer, 
to show off his pugilistic skill. 

Pleasantly and profitably he would converse with you 
at his own fireside — in the parlor, or in his study ; although 
he would sometimes have his patience tried with such 
dunces, as some of us were, who called upon him. 

We knew he had a kind, sympathetic heart, and could 
make allowance for our comparative ignorance ; yet it is 
no wonder that we felt very small by his side. 

There was an uncommon richness of vein in his con- 
versation, such as 1 never knew any other person to pos- 
sess. There was a combination of several rare qualities 
w^hich gave a zest and an interest to his colloquial dis- 
course, which charmed the attention and captivated the 
hearts of the listeners. It v/as a fascination, innocent as 
is possible, in its character. You were held fast by it. 
It was not the serpent wile to decoy the unsuspecting, 
and to betray to ruin ; but rather to allure and to draw you 
from the '' snare of the fowler" to the heavenly charmer. 
He possessed a store of intellectual wealth, and he knew 
where to find it. He had but to touch a spring, or turn 
a key, and his hand is already among gold and diamonds. 
Gems of spiritual and mental beauty are at once brought 
forth to enrich his public discourses, or to lend brilliancy 
and enchantment to his conversation. Remarks an em- 
inent living writer,*" referring to Dr. Payson's conversa- 
tional powers, " As a songster from a cage, his thoughts 
flew from him in every possible variety of beauty and 
harmony like birds from a South American forest;" an 
llustration of great fitness and significance in its applica- 
tion to Dr. Payson. 

There was no exhausting his intellectual resources ; 



^ Rev. Dr. Cheever. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 153 

and in aptness and power' of illustration, he has been 
seldom equalled. Here was the secret of that influence, 
by which he held the concentrated attention of any com- 
pany which he addressed. It was not then, as now, where 
in a social gathering, there are almost as many speakers 
as hearers. When he spake " they answered not again,"* 
Nor did he urge any claim for a monopoly of the conver- 
sation. So far from it, we believe, that it was an act of 
self-denial in him to take the lead in conversation. The 
company gladly awarded this precedence to him, as his 
prerogative, and esteemed it their privilege to do so. It 
was not an assumption of the office of chief speaker on 
his part ; and on ours, it was a deference of the heart as 
well as the understanding to his superior wisdom. " His 
doctrine dropped as the rain and distilled as the dew." 

" On a very few occasions,^' writes our correspondent, 
" did I spend an evening in company where Dr. P. was 
present. On these occasions, he did not converse with 
individuals, but occupied pretty much the whole time with 
his remarks, which constitute a sort of parlor lecture. 
To make the meeting pleasant and profitable, he seemed 
to task his powers of invention, and of agreeable illustra- 
tion. Conversing with himself and Mrs. Payson on the 



* Dr. Payson was not in favor of there being more than one 
minister present at a private meeting where religious conversation 
was expected. This preference was not from any despotic prin- 
ciple in him. lie had found that when two or more ministers 
were present, it rather hindered than promoted the interest of the 
meeting ; that they were in each others way ; and that one would 
wait for the other to speak, either from difl'idence or some other 
causo, and that if there were but one minister present, his duty 
would be apparent ; he would be expected to take the lead of the 
conversation, and could do it. Mr. Cecil, when he would address 
a company of children, would have none but children present, 
that he might be under no restraint, and under no temptation to 
adopt a style of remark above the capacity of children. 



154 RECOLLECTIONS OE PATSOX. 

effort li€ sometimes had to make to attend at an evening 
visit, that was expected of him, Mrs. P. observed that 
sometimes he felt constrained to attend to the duty, when, 
so far as his comfort was concerned, he would have pre- 
ferred to give a considerable sum of monev lo be relieved. 
Flis manner of conversing, rather of discoursing, in his 
visits, would account for the fact of the sei*vice being so 
burdensome." C. F. 

He was conscientious in observing this economy and 
improvement of time. No half-hour of such an interview 
was devoted to the common topics of secular news, or 
to popular questions. 

With his peculiar views of the dignity of the ministerial 
office, he could never sink the minister into the mere 
politician, financier, or man of the world. 

Incidentally he might deviate from his accustomed 
course, to win upon an individual, and thereby attract his 
notice to subjects that related to his spiritual interests. 
As a servant of Jesus Christ, he understood and appre- 
ciated the exclusive duties belonorinor to his vocation. This 
high-minded consistency and supreme devotedness to his 
calling, his people appreciated and approved ; and it 
only augmented their respect for him. They saw the bent 
of his heart in his holy aims and endeavors, and they 
deemed it little less than sacrilege to attempt to divert 
him from his high purpose. 

We supposed ho knew, in his own case, what was 
suitable for him to be and to do. As one set apart to 
"^ serve at the altar," he saw, as every consistent minister 
must, that whatever would encroach upon his peculiar 
sphere was a *' grand impertinence." 

We saw in him no desire to " lord it over God's heri- 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 155 

tage." The advancement of his people in holiness and 
happiness was the highest object of his pursuit. 

" He drew them as v^^ith the cords of love, and with 
the bands of a man." If he laid upon them a yoke or a 
burden, no one complained : the yoke was always con- 
sidered easy, and the burden light : submitted to, by us, 
from choice, rather than necessity or compulsion ; him- 
self, always the pattern. 

"He soared to brighter worlds, and ledltlie v/ay." 

How pleasant to record that the lapse of years abated 
not an iota of his people's respect and affection towards 
him. For them, he wasted under infirmities of body ; 
for them were his noblest energies employed, both of early 
and later life ; and as the sun in his going down, casts its 
mellov»% yet undiminished rays upon the surrounding 
landscape, so vanished he from our sight, sinking in his 
full-orbed lustre, to rise in brighter worlds. 

Great as his uncommon popularity among his people 
was, and mysterious as the fact may appear to many at 
the present day, yet to us it is no mystery. His very 
name now awakens in our minds the most precious and 
grateful recollections. An echo to all we have said of 
him is heard still, loud and unsuppressed, in the hearts 
of his surviving friends. 

And yet we are compelled to believe that there are 
those who question whether the religious influence which 
he exerted among his people or in the community gener- 
ally, would, upon the whole, now be desirable. They 
judge his religion to be over precise, and of too puritani- 
cal a stamp, and uncongenial to the spirit of the age. 
There would probably be misgivings accompanying the 
prayer for a revival of religion of such a character. And 
yet Payson and his times arc not the only ones supposed 



156 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

to be liable to objection. By such a standard of judg- 
ment, would not Baxter and Bunyan, President Edwards, 
and David Brainard, and their times be accounted as un- 
desirable ? Would they not fall under like suspicion or 
rebuke ? 

In the foregoing remarks, we do not cast a single 
reflection upon the piety of the present day. We are 
aware that religion has new phases. The outlet from the 
fountain has found other channels of beneficence and 
love and zeal, wherewith its blessings are diffused over 
the land and the world. It is a piety still, whose odors 
are as precious as when it first bloomed upon the valleys 
and mountain-tops of Judea. Such a piety tells of Cal- 
very and the Cross, and baptized into the spirit of its 
Divine Founder, we predict it will never lose its resem- 
blance to the grand original. '' Wisdom hath builded 
her house in our land." Scattered over our wide domain, 
magnificent, because simple, ten thousand altars and their 
priests beautify and adorn her courts. The incense of a 
sincere piety goeth up to heaven therefrom. The people 
of the living God have brought their gifts ; noble offerings 
of sons and of daughters, of wealth and influence ; of 
splendid intellects, and burning hearts and quenchless 
zeal. They are ^' the gold and frankincense and myrrh" 
laid down at the feet of their Redeemer. The compas- 
sion for dying pagans, kindled in the hearts of Samuel J. 
Mills, and his worthy coadjutors, as they meditated upon 
the love of Christ, and the obligations which that love 
imposes, has pervaded our churches, and colleges, and 
seminaries. 

Under its god-like influence, her hundreds of devoted 
missionaries have sought their last earthly home among 
the untutored and idolatrous races of the East and the 
West. *' The isles which have waited for Gods' law," 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 157 

are receiving it at their hands ; and while our fathers 
read in that law of the ^'glorious things spoken of thee, thou 
Zion, city of our God ;" their sons are reading in the 
unmistakable signs of the times, its wondrous fulfilment. 
And yet with all these concessions, may not the prayer 
still go up to heaven, for a more spiritual church ; that 
God would give to us more of such men as Owen, and 
Whitefield, and Scott, and Jay, and Payson, and grant us 
the peculiar blessings of their times. Devoted and hum- 
ble as are many of the incumbents of our pulpits, what 
one of them would not prize higher than gold, the mantle 
of Philip Doddridge, or Leigh Richmond. Lives there 
a missionary, however self-sacrificing or successful he 
now is, or may have been, who does not sigh to have 
more of his spirit, who sacrificed health and comfort and 
life itself, to promote the salvation of the aborigines of 
our New-England wilderness ? or who would not deem 
it an honor greater than man can bestow, to be like him 
who closed his martyr-life upon the plains of Persia ; or 
to follow in the honorable yet suffering path of the man 
who gave to the millions of Burrnah and the East, the 
translated word of life, andt hen sank to his ocean-grave ? 
And what minister of the present day, who has read of 
the labors of love, and the result of those labors, and the 
reward of those labors, as seen in the '' Dying Thoughts" 
of Payson, would not desire that not only his own last 
days, but that all his days might be like his ? and what 
church, however enriched it may now be wiih some 
bright ascension-gift as its pastor, tliat would not esteem 
it a privilege indeed to sit under a ministry like Dw 
Pay son's ? "^ 



* Rev. Dr. Alexander, of Princeton, in seltxtinfr throe strikintr 
examples of the power of religion as exenipHfied intJie d3ang hour 
has made choice of Dr. Payson as one of them, and the candid 



158 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

What community that can appreciate the value of re- 
ligious truth, as exerting an unwonted power over the 
consciences and hearts of men ; dissipating a worldly 
spirit ; that could make heaven and hell appear in all their 
solemn reality, and could see their ministers stand con- 
fessed, as such exemplifying in their own conduct all that 
they professed and taught to others, as Payson did, but 
would desire such a man. and such a ministry, and pray 
for tlie revival of such a ministry, and the return of 
such times ? 

Where is room for envy ? None ; as there is none 
for boasting. God made Dr. Payson all that he was, and 
God made his times such as they were ; for were they 
not '^ times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord," 
and every humble supplicant who utters now the prayer, 
•' O Lord, revive thy work," is only praying for the Spirit 
of God to come down to dwell more largely in the hearts 
of his ministers, and bless the churches and the w^orld 
with a greater afiluence of his grace, even as he blessed 
former ministers and people. 

Be sure the last man would Dr. Payson have been, to 
place to his own credit any thing which God might have 
accomplished through his instrumentality, as would his 
people then or nov/, be the last to boast of their privileges, 
for we speak a good and a true word for them when we 
say that they felt their unworthiness of their privileges, 
and deep self-condemnation that they were not made bet- 
reader will acknowledge tliatjudoing from his " Dying Thoughts" 
already published, of his views of the soul and eternity that, in 
point of interest, they are not eclipsed hy eitlier of the other instan- 
ces adduced. " No raan in our country, writes Dr. Alexander, has 
left behind him a higher character for piety, than the Kev. Edward 
Payson." In introducing his narrative of " Death-bed Scenes, ' 
he remarks "I propose to select the experiences of men of differ- 
ent countries, those who vrere eminent in the church, and 
distinorui=hed for talents." 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON, 159 

ter by them. '^ Thoii Capernaum, which art exalted to 
heaven, shall be thrust down to hell, for if the mighty 
works which have been done in thee had been done in 
Sodom, it had repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and 
ashes." 

There is a remnant " who are crying and sighing" for 
the return of a period when vital godliness did more 
abound ; deeper seriousness in religion, and less confor- 
mity to the world. We look into the hearts of Payson's 
surviving church members, and others of the same period, 
and we hear them exclaim : '' God speed the day" and 
they say it not with an invidious, but with most respectful 
spirit towards those whose ministrations they now enjoy, 

*' Our souls shall pray for Zion still." 

For her are our choicest sympathies enlisted ; suffering 
as she still is under the pressure of worldliness ; the pro- 
mulgation of false doctrine, and mourning under so great 
a dearth of the special influences of the spirit. We 
would share our proportion of the obloquy and scorn which 
a cold, ungrateful and infidel world is casting upon tho 
church, — rejoicing always that '' He who is in the midst of 
her is mighty," laid that He will help h.er, and that right 
early. 

We cannot hope to escape the charge of an over- ween- 
ing attachment to a by-gone religion, yet we do love to 
contemplate the piety of the olden times — the giants of 
thoso days, and their writings, and their hearts' deep 
experience in the things of God, portrayed therein. We 
estimate such men and their writings as the smith docs 
the ancient coins or plate that has come down from other 
generations, worn, but unadulterated, while he exclaims, 
as he weighs it in his hand, " here is the precious, purer 



160 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOX. 

metal, bring me such as this f ' as we do much of the de- 
votional poetry of a past age (which no modern fashion 
has been able to improve though often attempted,) full of 
thought and feeling. We love a piety that will burn and 
brighten amid the darkness of abounding error ; that 
shall make its way along through the forces and fashions 
of the world's compactest and strongest influence, and 
unmoved by its most facinating blandishments ; a piety, 
the spirit of which in the social meeting, or in the closet, 
can commune devoutly with the spirit of Watts, and sing 
with him in that beautiful stanzas of his : 

" My willing soul would stay 
In such a frame as this, 
And sit and sing herself a way 
To everlastinor bliss." 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Would Dr. P. have sustained his eminence in the ministry, had 
he been continued to the present day ? — Was his influence not 
only salutary, but enduring ? — Would he have been a suitable 
minister for the times ? — Dr. P., remarkably free from any signs 
of mental imbecility. — Hisinfluence great and salutary among 
his people during his life — and afterwards, as appears from the 
general religious character of those who survived him.— He 
had a living, praying church. — Early brought into the harness, 
The effect of his Sabbath labors apparent during the week after- 
wards. — Anecdote of a lady, in point :— 

It has been questioned whether Dr. Payson would have 
been able to maintain his former position among the 
preachers of the present day, or whether the influence of 
his ministrations would have been as great now as for- 
merly. 

It is a problem, from the nature of the case, not to be 
solved with entire certainty or satisfaction. The future 
of every man's history is necessarily involved in doubt. 
None can pronounce with assurance what a man will be 
at sixty or seventy, from what he is at forty ; or how 
mournfully one day, even, may tell upon his destiny, so 
that his dishonored name shall not be written in the dust. 
How like Sampson he may go forth, shorn of his locks, 
and only to discover his prostrate moral or intellectual 
strength. 

Yet from analogy and from scripture it may be fair 
and safe to infer that the christian graces, so eminently 



162 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

bright in him, and which sustained him through every 
change of storm and calm and sunshine in his religious 
life, would flourish still, and increase even as the '^ light 
of the morning, more and more to the perfect day ;" and 
that had his divine master added twenty years to his life, 
he might have kept him still holy and humble. We have 
no warrant to believe that his influence would be less, 
were his voice again to be heard among the living ; al- 
though in view of circumstances that are possible, the 
zenith of his usefulness may have been reached, and 
the chronicles of his future history might have told of 
disappointment and defeat. 

No man more than he, would more fully abide by the 
sentiment, that "• it is not in man that walketh to direct 
his steps." None could more feelingly pray, '' Hold 
thou me up and I shall be safe," or say, '' by the grace 
of God, I am what I am." 

It is still, however, doubted by some, whether, had his 
life been continued, his influence would have been as 
controlling over the public mind, as it had been during 
his previous ministry — whether amid the conflicting 
elements, which now agitate the religious and civil com- 
munity, even a P^yson could have maintained his wonted 
and enviable position as a public teacher. Yet the in- 
quiry returns, why are we to doubt in Jiis case more than 
in others, eminent in the various professions, who, though 
advanced in years, have not outlived their popularity, or 
those who have been renowned for their piety, and are 
still " bearing fruit in old age." No change of times or 
sentiments, no convulsions in the community, have been 
able to diminish their popularity and usefulness. The 
present generation are ready to acknowledge the merit 
of those now great and good, who have come down from 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSO]S% 153 

a past age. Even to advanced years, there was no wan- 
ing in the popularity of a Wordsworth, or a Montgomery 
— of a Chalmers, a Wardlaw ; in a Cleaveland, Silli- 
man, an Adams, a Clay, or a Webster. Such men mould- 
ed and controlled, more or less, the times in which they 
lived ; in poetry, in politics, in philosophy and religion. 

Would Dr. Payson have been an exception ? Falling 
upon these times, volatile and restless as they may be, 
would he not still, like a star in the firmament, have kept 
shining on in the reflected lustre of his Divine Lord ; the 
admiration of the- children as he once had been of their 
fathers ? Or if it be said that it was novelty which gave 
him such precedence above others in celebrity and fame ; 
still we think that a period of twenty years of unwaning 
popularity, would have been sufficient to settle that ques- 
tion upon a sure foundation : for the last year of his life 
found him as popular as he ever had been. 

Had he owed his celebrity to mere novelty, it had 
passed away with the early years of his ministry, which^ 
as is admitted by all, was very far from being the case. 

But it is said that v/hen he commenced his pulpit labors 
in Portland, he was almost alone in the field, and having 
but few rivals to compete with, and men of his stamp as 
preachers, rare, he rose to more eminent distinction on 
that account. But other lights were gradually introduced 
into his neighborhood, and brilliant ones tliey v\ere, yet 
he was not eclipsed by the brightest of them ; and had 
he lived at the present day, he would no doubt have held 
his own in the view of a discerning comnumily. 

It is said liuit the present generation abounds in learned 
and accomplished divines. Granted. So did the times 
in which he lived. Is it said that therefore he would 
have been eclips:ed .^ Doubted. Pure gold is always the 



164 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

same. True merit never cheapens. Talents and piety, 
men of every age will always estimate by the same stand- 
ard. He never passed for more than he was worth, nor 
would he ever have passed for less. 

But it is said that such is the genius of the present age, 
that piety like his, and the truth as he was wont to pro- 
claim it, so pointed and so direct, would rather be con- 
demned than appreciated ; the world would not bear it 
now. 

More stress is laid on this argument by the incredulous 
than on any other. Yet we deem it a vain assumption, 
and founded upon no principle of our nature ; not in 
agreement with analogy or the Bible. He rose to emi- 
nence at a time of general stupidity in religion, and when 
the most liberal religious views prevailed ; and amid the 
rough blasts of adverse influences. He weathered the 
storm, he endured the calm then. He preached boldly 
the whole truth then^ " no man forbidding him," and won 
for himself a martyr's name. The laurels upon his brow 
would have been flourishing in old age. 

His personal friends who survive him, agree with us 
in our position. Said a gentleman, (who knew and loved 
him well,) to the writer, while present at the meeting of 
the American Board in Portland, (we stood in the porch 
of the church, viewing the immense crowd, which the 
occasion had called together,) " what an interest would 
Dr. Payson have given to such a meeting as this." There 
could be no exception to the highly interesting manner 
in which that meeting was conducted, comprising as it 
did, ministers and laymen of the first respectability in our 
land. Yet our heart felt no misgivings in yielding its 
full assent to the truth of the above remark ; a remark, 
which, had it been overheard bv all of that vast assembly, 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PaYSON. 165 

would not have provoked one envious or dissentient feel- 
ing ; for what one was there who had not known or heard 
of Payson ? 

Dr. Payson discovered no signs of mental imbecility as 
he advanced in years. He never flagged in any of his 
literary productions or pulpit performances. He acquired 
a maturity of mind at a very early age, and it would seem 
to be the design of Providence that it should be so, in view 
of his brief sojourn upon the earth. In the latter part of 
his life, there appeared in his sermons and conversations 
more of ripeness and mellowness, but not less of intel- 
lectual power, or ardent and active piety. His energies 
knew no slumbering. And yet his popular "Address on 
Music," alluded to, which he delivered in the early part 
of his ministry, probably could not have been surpassed 
in intellectual vigor or beautiful illustration, at any sub- 
sequent period of his life. 

Nor that he was less a workman, or that his stock of 
materials became exhausted, or diminished even, but as 
the ship builder who launches his bark, and sees her in 
her appointed element a *' thing of beauty,'' attracting 
the attention of every beholder for her admirable model 
and finish, may not do better ; yet still possessing the 
ability and resources to do as well ; can produce another 
and another, materially the same in excellency of archi- 
tecture, and in any variety — so Dr. Payson with his 
model still in his own possession, and with versatility of 
talent, and universality of genius, could bring forth his 
mental products in great variety and excellence. In a 
word, he could prepare a discourse that would charm and 
instruct, equally the most learned or illiterate audience. 

Like Handel or Haydn who could compose an 



166 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

" Oratorio" to enrapture the accomplished amateur ; or 
set to music a ballad for the sailor, to beguile the hours 
of his *' watch on deck," or for the shepherd-boy as he 
watched his flock by night, or a hymn of comfort for the 
heart of the devout saint in his outburst of piety , or 
to awake to an honest patriotism the soldier who must 
march at the break of day to-morrow for the battle-field. 

But the question is still urged, '' \Vould.Dr. Payson 
have been a suitable minister for the times ?" *' Would 
he have kept pace v/ith them ?" There may be some 
difficulty we say, in satisfactorily answering the question. 
How far the present times may have outstripped common 
sense, and the conversation of the good old times ; with 
what effrontery they would outstare the modesty and 
shamefacedness which once gave beauty and correctness 
of complexion to customs and observances which in their 
native simplicity were handed down from our ancestors : 
to what extent the present times have urged upon us for 
our acceptance and adoption, their new fangles in science, 
politics or religion, must first be considered. 

It w^ould indeed be curious to know what the present 
times require in a minister of the Gospel, that past times 
did not demand. Must he be more of a novel reader, or 
a more finished ladies' man ; a lover of light and vain 
company ? Must he make a greater flourish in the 
street or in the pulpit ? or must he be more brief in 
his public prayers, and never exceed twenty minutes in 
his sermon ? Must he so " preach as to please 
men," must he divest the Gospel of its peculiar 
doctrines, and give his people instead, an unsound philos- 
ophy ? 

If so, we venture to affirm that Dr. Payson could not 
have so far abandoned the Bible standard of a true min- 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 167 

ister of Jesus Christ ; be could not have so lost sight 
of the responsibleness of his office, and of the value of 
immortal souls as to have suited himself to such times ; 
unless it were to be in God's baud as a reprover. There 
vvas nothing in Dr. Payson's religion or general character 
as a man or a preacher, that was not suitable for all 
times ; that would not have commanded the respect of all 
times. 

But it is said, everything is now changing or changed : 
standards are changed and tastes in music, in painting, in 
architecture, in dress, in language, in manners ; another 
age with all its improvements has dawned upon us. Yes, 
they say. Dr. Pay son was right for his times ; his reli- 
gious cast suited his own day ; but would the people now 
endure the out-spoken truthfulness, direct and pointed as 
it flowed from his lips, thirty or forty years ago ; or 
accept such a manner of lips as he enjoined upon his peo- 
ple, and of which he set so holy and uniform an example } 
But we ask, would President Edwards, or Nettleton, or 
Bunyan, or Baxter even, be acceptable ministers at the 
present day, could they stand in our pulpits, walk in our 
streets, or visit at our firesides ? Venerable men ! may 
God forgive the shadow of such a suspicion. 

But why would not such men as Payson and his contem- 
poraries, or his predecessors of a former century be 
acceptable even now ? Has God changed ? Has the 
Bible ? or truth } or heaven, or hell, or the way that 
leads there ? If not, then Dr. Payson and the worthies 
just mentioned would be just the men for these times ; 
just such men as a slumbering church and a dying world 
are calling aloud for. God's truth is established, in an 
unbroken harmony. A thousand years ago or a thousand 
years to come, it admits of no change. As well might it 



16S RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

be expected that God will " break his covenant with the 
day and the night," as that He will disrobe his peculiar 
character of its glory, or waver in one iota in his re- 
quirements. And this not more in the essential ordinan- 
ces of religion, than in the ordinances of nature. If 
the prosperity of religion demanded such men as Payson, 
in the day in which he lived, it demands just such now. 
If God blessed the clear and unflinching enunciation of 
truth then^ He would do it now. The same self-denial 
and sacrifice which he once demanded from his ministers, 
he demands now. We understand the hint that is often 
thrown out that " such a minister is behind the times." 
There may be those who by their apathy and indolence 
have exposed themselves to such an imputation. We have 
no disposition to defend such. In health, and surrounded 
with opportunities for ministerial usefulness and for the im- 
provement of his mind, with his pen and his books, there 
is no excuse for a minister to *' go to seed," or rust out. 
Such are behind the times. Their imbecility will be appar- 
ent in their yellow manuscripts which they expose in the 
pulpit. A minister needs to be " ground over" again, and 
his sermons too, if he is giving his people from sabbath to 
sabbath principally, sermons that were elaborated twenty 
or thirty years ago. Such men are not only behind the 
times, but are living behind their duty and their privileges. 
Advanced age^ merely, need not, should not, incur this 
reproach. Father Sewall was, and Father Sawyer and 
Dr. L. Beecher are now, noble examples of " old men 
eloquent," their powers still sustained in vigor by con- 
stant use. Who would have dared to tell General 
Washington or Benjamin Franklin, even in their latest 
days, that they were behind the times, and no longer fit 
for usefulness,or would say, retire and make room for your 



KECOLLECTIOiNTS OF PAYSON. 169 

juniors, better qualified for the service ? Would you have 
hinted to Henry Clay or Daniel Webster, or a Welling- 
ton or a Harrison, that having come from a past age, im- 
becility and inefficiency have sunk you below the level 
of present expectations and exigencies ? How much rather 
ought the wisdom and experience, which men in all the 
professions, bring along with them, to be respected and 
appreciated. 

Dr. Payson was remarkably free from any liability to 
such a charge as we have been considering, even in his 
last years, though they were years of great bodily infir- 
mities. He was always advancing in knowledge, grow- 
ing in grace, and in everything that would increase his 
usefulness in the ministry,' to the very last. Not an indo- 
lent atom was there in his body or mind. Such a course 
as he adopted and loved, he would doubtless have perse- 
vered in ; and coming upon these times, or to the most 
distant future which he might have been spared to see, he 
would have stood up in a fulness and maturity of stature, 
as an ambassador for Christ, in vigor of intellect undi 
minished, and in zeal, pure and unquenched. 

At times we are ready almost to say. Would that his 
Great Master had lent to the church militant, this ascen- 
sion gift, a while longer ; that instead of being removed 
at the noon of life, he might have continued his labors 
until he had numbered his threescore years and ten. — 
Yet how cruel the wish ; when he panted even at the 
early period of his exit, to " rise and take his crown." — 
Yet it is a luxury of thought to dwell, even in imagi- 
nation, upon the rich resources he would have accumu- 
lated, had a double period of ministerial life been granted, 
of reading, and reflective observation and experience, for 
the benefit of the churclies, in these days and in all com- 



170 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

ing time. But his " mortal must put on immortality." 

Gone is that light, not quench' d or riven ; 
But burning, shining on, in heaven. 

" We priz'd every hour that went by, 
Beyond all that pleased us before ; 
But now they are gone, and we sigh, 
And we grieve that we priz'd them no more." 

Was Dr. Pay son's influence not only salutary, but en- 
during 7 

Blest with the ministry of one so eminently endowed 
both by nature and grace as was our Pastor, it might be 
expected that we should be a well-instructed peo- 
ple " in the things appertaining to life and godliness," 
and that the influence he exerted should be of a staid and 
enduring character. We might well blush if it were not 
so. Since his day, the question has been put to us, 
'* Were Dr. Payson's christians, eminent christians in 
their day V The writer of course is obliged to set him- 
self aside from the question, when he would reply to such 
an interrogatory ; but as a general remark w^e aflfirm that 
they weie a humble and spiritual people : we can make 
this statement at least so far as the first ten years of his 
ministry are concerned, and indeed after a much longer 
period. 

Writes one correspondent, respecting Dr. Payson's 
great influence over his people, and especially over him ; 
" In the hour of conviction, when I strove to resist, the 
man of God held me fast. He had a power over my 
conscience, as one, whom from my earliest memory,! had 
been taught to reverence as an apostle of the Lord. I 
think we all felt such a reverence for the man as gave 
him an influence over the mind, we could hardly resist. 



EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 171 

The fruits are seen in the seals of his ministry, and I 
have often passed a pleasant hour with some of those 
who were blessed under his ministry, in recalling the his- 
tory of the converts gathered by his labors, and marking 
their steadfastness in the faith even to this day. The 
cases of relapse or departure from the faith are compara- 
tively few. Is not this sufficient evidence that they were 
well instructed in the things of the kingdom ?" E. F. c. 

When we contemplate the character of those of his 
church who have departed this life, and survey the rem- 
nant which survive, we are impressed with the conviction 
that the influence which Dr. Payson exerted among his 
people was both salutary and enduring. 

His people, after the decease of their pastor, like others, 
were exposed to the scorching heat and blighting mildew, 
and the winter's frost, yet they endured. We often meet 
those of the scattered remnant of his flock, in different 
directions, and we can bear testimony to their christian 
demeanor, and to their spiritual instructor's fidelity, alike 
honorable to both. His influence and instructions could 
not fail to be of a salutary tendency ; he was thorough 
in his work, laying deep the foundation, as if he intended 
it should be enduring. He never " daubed with untem- 
pered mortar." The supports and consolations of reli- 
gion his people enjoyed in their afllictions, and in death ; 
and many we believe will he meet in heaven, who will 
bless him* as the instrument of their conversion, whose 
salvation will tell of his faithfulness in characters endur- 
ing as eternity. 

His own spirit was largely infused into the minds of his 
people. It was contagious. His constant and earnest 
desires for a revival, uttered in his prayers, produced in 
his church, in a measure, similar desires. His efforts to 



172 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

obtain so desirable a blessing, had a tendency to invoke 
and to keep alive their zeal. His deadness to the world 
operated upon their minds as a salutary check to a 
worldly spirit. His prayers and preaching on the sab- 
bath followed us from the sanctuary into our own dwel- 
lings, and into the week.* 

He had a praying, living church, generally " ready 
unto every good word and work." We well remember 
how much we found it adding to the blessedness of the 
sabbath to meet at the dwelling of some member of the 
church on a sabbath morning, an hour or so before the 
public service, to enjoy a season of devotion, and to pray 
for a blessing upon the word preached, and thus freshly 
anointed to repair to the sanctuary of God ; an exercise 
which was attended with happy results at least to our- 
selves, by preparing our hearts to meet God. 

There was a becoming zeal in his church in copying 
the pastor's example ; in laying themselves out to bring 
sinners to the Savior. They aided him in such a work, 
and were on the look-out for such opportunities, well 
pleased to acquaint their pastor w^ith new instances of 
awakening among his people. Although they might not 
compare with Harlan Page, in his indefatigable zeal for 
the salvation of his fellow-men, yet it was a similar spirit 
working in them, which actuated that faithful disciple 
when time after time he led some conscience-stricken sin- 
ner to his pastor's door. Many were induced by their 
faithful warnings and entreaties to forsake the wilderness 
of sin. They were led to the '' shepherd's tent,'^ and 



^NoTE. Said a lady, a member of his church, to us recent- 
ly, " Dr. Payson's preaching so deeply affected me, that on leav- 
ing the house of God I was afraid to speak to my husband as we 
walKed home, lest I should lose any of the impressions which 1 Jiad 
received from the sermon," 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. ID 

soon under the instructions of the pastor were found in- 
quiring for the " footsteps of the flock," who were even- 
tually by the Good " Shepherd of Israel" led to " green 
pastures and by the still waters." 

Religion was, with his church, less a bye-business and 
possessed more of an engrossing and subduing character, 
than we have generally witnessed in our churches. 

The younger members of his church, as is not so com- 
mon now, were early put into the harness, and surrounded 
as they were by adverse influences, they maintained their 
christian character in a most exemplary manner. Reli- 
gion was their element, and they manifested no desire to 
forsake her service. They professed to have found a 
greater good than the world could bestow, and in their 
hearts even, they " turned not back to Egypt." 

Our pastor saw and lamented that much less zeal was 
manifest in his church than the glory of God and their 
fidelity to Him demanded. So did his church : still per- 
sonal religion, and the interests of Zion, her advancement 
and glory both at home and abroad were usually the 
grand subjects of their thoughts and conversation. A 
degree of spiritual mindedness, more than is usual, was 
observed among them in ordinary meetings, by the way- 
side, and in family or social visits. 

Most refreshing to our souls were the example and 
pra}>ers, and especially the presence of our Pastor ; even 
as the spicy breezes that waft their odors to the sonsc . 
It was an influence so legitimate and so clevatinjg ir i', i 
character, that his people ought to escape all reproir- \ 
for their high appreciation of such a blessing, provin ■ v.'^ 
it did, such an auxiliary in promoting and invigorating 
their spiritual life. We have recently had the pleasure 
of perusing a packet of letters containing the corrcspon- 
8 



174 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

dence of several young female members of his church. 
It might [)rove refreshing and instructive to young christ- 
ians of the present day to read them and witness the 
spirituality of the converts of those tniies. You see in 
their letters, the heart laid open ; the drift and complex- 
ion of Dr. Payson's preaching, and thereby honoring their 
profession in an eminent example of piety. We allude to 
this circumstance to show the special character of the in- 
fluence which Dr. Payson's preaching exerted over his 
people ; how subduing and enduring it was, entering into 
their plans, and governing their feelings, and moulding 
their hearts into the spirit of the Gospel. How it awakened 
and sustained a mutual sympathy amid the struggles and 
temptations which beset the pilgrim's path. The spirit 
of those letters is indicative of the great value they placed 
upon the '' light of God's countenance," and how deeply 
they mouined over its absence. And when the remark 
is made (and it is made) that the religion of his day (es- 
pecially as exhibited by him) was quite a different thing 
from much of thit which goes for religion now, we are 
not disi)osed to dispute the truth of the remark. The 
following extract from a letter from a young lady abroad, 
is evincive of the continued interest in Dr. Payson and 
his pastoral instructions, which his people felt when ab- 
sent. 

Newburyport, February 18, 1S19. 

" Having long since paid little if any regard to the 
etiquette of the fashionable world, I shall not now begin 
to observe it by waiting, &c. No ; I must address her 
again with tender inquiries after her welfare. How is it 
with thee ? How is it with the friends dearest to my 
heart ? and how is it with all the beloved followers of our 
blessed Redeemer ? 



J 



KECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 175 

'^Though at present you are as sheep without a shepherd 
(she refers to a temporary absence of their pastor), yet I 
trust the unslumbering eye of Him who will never leave 
nor forsake his church, still watches over the people, 
which, heaven grant, may ever be his peculiar care. 
Your candlestick is, for a while, removed out of its place, 
but I hope, only to be returned with increased lustre, to 
remain for many years, a * burning and shining light.' 
I was privileged to hear Mr. Payspn preach three times, 
and enjoyed two highly interesting and never to be for- 
gotten interviews, I almost felt, indeed I suffered my- 
self to feel and imagine, while listening to the music of 
his voice, that I was worshipping in that celestial edifice, 
where my first vows were made, and again encircled by 
my heart's first and best christian friends. Fancy too 
often roves among such scenes in Portland, and, alas ! 
too often collects around me a favorite group, with whom 
I once held sweet converse, and walked to the house of 
God in company. Are not such attachments solemn my 
dear ? 

''Permit me to ask my dear what she is doing 

for poor perishing souls. How desirable to exhibit the 
lovely traits of our Divine Redeeimer's character, in such 
a manner as to allure the careless multitude to join the 
few who are willing to forsake all for Christ." Speaking 
of her sense of unworthiness and short comings, and the 
danger of her proving a stumbhng-block to others, she 
concludes : '' raiher would I perish myself — rather incur 
the vengeance of my Creator, than that through my walk 
and conversation, any soul should plunge into the bottom- 
less abyss of misery. I hasten to close witii hunibiy 
soliciting the remembrance of my far-distant friend in 
her petitions to tiie throne of grace ; perhaps 1 lever 
more nondod thorn " C. C 



176 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

We hope to be excused for introducing so long an ex- 
tract, but it tells of pure christian afTection for her pastor, 
and for her christian friend — it speaks well of the intel- 
ligence and piety and deep spiritual experience of the 
young members of Dr. Payson's flock ; (and there were 
many of a similar spirit,) which becomes an en- 
dorsement to what we have asserted respecting the 
character of Dr. Payson's ministry. 

When we speak of Dr. Payson and his church and the 
influence of his ministry, we are happy to record, and as 
we are bound also to do, that there were '' burning and 
shmincr licrhts " in other churches in Portland and the 
surrounding region, which exerted an influence of the 
same type as Dr. Payson's. Spiritual '' wisdom and 
knowledge had, in a good degree, become the stability of 
those times,'' and the " spirit was poured out from on 
high," on ministers and christians of different denomina- 
tions. 

In wTiting of the foregoing remarks, respecting 
the influence of Dr. Payson's preaching among his people, 
our pen, as all must be aware, could not but move warily 
and misgivingly along. 

The interrogatory standing at the head of this division 
of the chapter, we have endeavored to answer satisfacto- 
rily ; although we have found it a delicate task. And we 
have intended to do it in accordance with strict truthful- 
ness. '' Nought has been extenuated, and nought set 
down" in an overweening spirit. We would say good 
things of Dr. P.'s church, although we are very far from 
claiming perfection for them. ]\Iany of them we trust 
are in heaven, out of the reach of our remarks. Yet if 
it were not so ; if they were here and could listen, we 
are sure that it would be an innocent blush that would 
beautify their immortal features, to hear how the grace 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOI^. 177 

of God had made them all they were on earth — the 
same grace has exalted them to a seat among the angels* 
And as to the few pilgrims who yet survive, a blush of 
intermingled shame and joy is seen as a comely suffusion 
upon their countenances, that tells of distinguished mercy 
and goodness on God's part, and of obligation and un- 
worthiness on theirs ; and which can have the effect only 
to give them a lighter step on their way to heaven. 

We have said that it was Dr. Payson's wish to keep 
his church in the harness : it was also his object, in his 
preaching and in all his instructions, to keep them hum- 
ble. He would have them cherish a low opinion of them- 
selves, and not to rest satisfied with the measure of their 
present attainments, but to be " reaching forth" after an 
object which would seem to recede as they approached to 
grasp it. Having instituted in his own case, a high 
standard of judgment respecting his duty, he would have 
his people '* walk by the same rule." The spirit of the 
Laodicean church, proud of its imaginary wealth in 
spiritual goods, he regarded as most dangerous to the 
prosperity of christians, and he did his utmost to break 
their hold of such a delusion. 

A holy atmosphere pervaded that community, as long 
as Dr. Payson lived ; yet religion in his day, in the place 
where he labored had its ebb and flow. A declension of 
religious zeal, was more observable among Ids people, 
than in some others, because of the elevated mark on 
which they had been taught to fix their eye. 

The danger and consequences of spiritual pride in 
christians, especially young christians, of " thinking 
more highly of themselves than they ought to think," 
were clearly pointed out by Dr. Payson, and his instruc- 
tions touching this subject commonly had the desired ef- 



178 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

feet. He would set the standard of holy obedience so 
high that with all their efforts they found themselves de- 
linquent. This served to humble them, and left them 
less exposed to the temptation to indulge a self-righteous 
spirit, and to feel more sensibly their need of the Re- 
deemer's righteousness. Then they could not glory 
" save in their infirmities," while they learned where was 
their strength to obey, as well as the necessity of the blood 
that was to wash away their sins, which they found ac- 
companying every service, of every day of their earthly 
pilgrimage. 

" God's plan," says Mr. Newton, "is to make us feel 
poor." When we first enter the Divine life we propose 
to grow rich, and not to have to come as beggars every 
day. Dr. Payson practised with his people very much 
in agreement with this principle. VVe do not say how far 
the remark holds true, that there is more pleasure in 
the anticipation of an expected good than in the posses- 
sion of it ; but it may be best that we be kept in that ex- 
pecting posture of mind, with the Apostle, when he said 
" Not as though we had already attained or were already 
perfect," but '•' reaching after" &c. The anticipation 
here^ the consummation hereafter ; here the strife, there 
the victory ; here the cross, there the crown. 

The truly humble christian never feels that he is rich 
in spiritual goods, or that he has made any uncommon at- 
tainments in religion. Others may notice the a Jvancemenl 
in his piety, but he himself will not be likely to perceive 
it. Mr. Newton, in his description off progress in the 
spiritual life, compares christians to the first three letters 
of the alphabet ; the last one indicated those to whom be- 
longed the most perfect christian character. 

Some person who had read the description, thought 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON-. 179 

he recognised himself in the character of C. and wrote 
to Mr. Newton to that effect. In reply Mr. N. informed 
his correspondent, who had arrogated this high distinc- 
tion that there was one feature in the character of C, 
which he had forgot to mention, which was, that C, 
*' never knew his own face.'^'^ 

It was not the legitimate tendency of Dr. Payson's 
treatment of his people to make them gloomy^ as may 
have been asserted. His close and searching; ministry, 
would naturally lead his church to a severe scrutiny of 
the character of their motives and hopes ; and his own 
high aim, begetting in them a desire to copy his exam- 
ple, would lead to greater efforts after a spiritual minded- 
ness in some measure like his whom they delighted to 
imitate. Like the Savior himself, he described the way 
to heaven as narrow ; to be entered upon and pursued 
with self-denial, and a sacrifice of everything which 
would come in the way of attaining the grand object ; 
and it would not be strange, if misgivings on their part, 
lest they had failed to do this, should occasion a distrust 
with regard to the genuineness of their christian charac- 
ter which might be seen depicted in the countenances of 
some " Fearings," and " Ready-to-halts,'^ which would 
be mistaken for gloom ; but which was in fact only 
an expression of the deep solicitude of the heart to know 
its acceptance with God. We say, that it was somewhat 
difficult at times, under his faithful preaching, to hold on 
to our hope. 

A young female member of Dr. Payson's church, who 
was naturally inclined to doubt her acceptance with 
God, happening in B., where the celebrated Dr. G. was 
then preaching, fell in company with him. Learning 
that she was one of Dr. Payson's church, he asked her 



ISO BECOLLICTIONS OF PATSON. 

the question " if Dr. Payson's church members were not 
gloomy ?" remarking that those he had seen, appeared 
so. The persons he had seen were, we believe, somewhat 
of a molancholic temperament, and this circumstance 
may have given rise to his remarks. Yet, as a general 
thing. Dr. G.'s impressions on the subject were not true. 
One fact about it, however, is that if any of us had suppo- 
sed that we had laid up anything during the week, and 
were become '^ increased in goods," and we began to 
think that we were something, he would be sure on the 
next sabbath to strip us, and lead us to exclaim with 
Job, " Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and 
naked shall I return thither.'"' 

From a critical observation of the deceitfulness of the 
heart, in all its phases, he became an adept in the art of 
unmasking the religious character of professors. He 
would distinguish at a glance the false from the genuine 
in religious profession, and whether the mistake in an 
individual, arose from self-d- ception or sheer hypocrisy. 

It might be a source of mortification to us to be thus 
handled, yet only good grew out of it. We found we did 
not know half so much as in our ignorance, we had sup- 
posed, nor that we possessed half as much genuine reli- 
gion as we imagined. We were thereby reduced to our 
proper stature. A rejyressing process with his church, 
Dr. Pay son had instituted from the beginning, and he 
carried it out to the last. This management with them, 
he adopted as a principle of duty on his part, and for 
their benefit. He would not incur the charge of manu- 
facturing hypocrites. Yet no man was more tender to- 
wards the weak and feeble-minded of his flock, or more 
ready to " bind up the broken reed." But when he saw 
the gangrene, he would faithfully apply the knife or the 
caustic. 



RECOLLECTIONS OE PAYSON. 181 

Between Dr. Payson and all evangelical churches there 
was mutual christian fellowship. He loved all who were 
built upon the sure foundation. They shared his visits 
and his sympathies, and especially such as were noted 
for their piety. The people of God, of whatever name, 
could not but love and respect him ; and his eminently 
holy and consistent walk secured the respect even of 
those who were of opposite sentiments in religion, or who 
were of no religion. All who could relish the " sincere 
milk of the word" were fed while listening to his 
preaching and prayers. 

He was steadfast in his own persuasion, yet charitable 
towards other christians, although they might differ in 
the non-essentials of religion. 

Our good Baptist brethren were in the habit of attend- 
ing his occasional meetings, and at their meetings, Dr. 
Payson and his people were sometimes found. Like all 
good Christians he did not refuse to partake of wholesome 
food, by whomsoever it might be served. He had no 
prejudice of that sort : he could relish the " Bread of 
Life" come from whatever hands it might, according to 
the principle exemplified in Mr. Bunyan's practice at a 
certain time, when a pie was sent to him by a church-of- 
England-man, the bearer being ordered to say to Mr. 
Bunyan" that it was a Christmas-ipie ;" which the donor 
might suppose would prove as a test for Bunyan's princi- 
ples and appetite to see which would gain the victory. — 
Bunyan said to the bearer, '* Tell your master that John 
Bunyan knows how to distinguish between Christmas 
and pie. 

Yet Dr. Payson would contend for the faith, and for 
his own peculiar views, when honorably called out in 

their defence. 

8^ 



182 RECOLLECTIONS OF PATSON. 

He was firmly established in the doctrine of Infant 
baptism. Yet said he once in conversation with a mem- 
ber of his church who had been some time vacillating in 
his mind upon that subject, " I too was once as much 
troubled as you are, on that point. It seemed, said he, 
as if something from an unknown source, would iterate 
and re-iterate, " You must be a Baptist^ you must be a 
Baptist ;" a suggestion that seemed almost irresistible. 
However both the Pastor and the pupil, found something 
more than suggestions ^ to establish them in the doctrine 
upon which they had once been unsettled. 

He happened on some occasion, to meet at the house 
of a mutual friend, a lady of the Baptist denomination, 
Mrs. B., " a mother in their Israel," a leader of high 
standing. Soon, the subject that forms the grand line of 
division between the two denominations, was introduced. 
Both, " nothing loth" drew up in battle array, most 
courteously to be sure, as we should expect from the 
very respectable character of the combatants ; yet with 
all their firmness and dexterity, they plied their weapons 
of argument and defence. How much either gained by 
the fight, or whether both waxed stronger in their opinion, 
by the encounter, or whether both " came off second 
best," it were useless to conjecture. 

Mr. Payson in the course of the debate, remarked that 
he believed he had been as truly taught the doctrine of 
" infant baptism'' by the Holy Spirit, as he had been the 
doctrine of" depravity." 

Mrs. B.'s exalted opinion of Mr. Payson's piety, and 
experimental knowledge of Bible truth, compelled her to 
pay a suitable deference to his opinion by saying, that she 
now believed a person might be conscientious in adopting 
views on christian baptism,different from her own. Before, 



3 

RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 18 

she had not believed it, but had supposed that persons did 
not fall in with the Baptist scheme from pride, or an 
unwillingness to take up the cross. 

It is not to be supposed, that our fair antagonist, " low- 
ered a single jot, for on this point our good Baptist 
brethren " nail their colors to the mast," yet her res- 
pectful acknowledgement of Mr. Payson's sincerity in 
his belief, and that conviction derived too from such a 
source, was something ; a signal of cessation of hostilities 
at least, between two, who were disposed to appeal to 
the same standard, and which should be considered as an 
" end of a 11 strife." 

One grand point was gained by the contest — Mrs. B.'s 
acknowledgement — although she still thought, probably, 
that Mr. Payson might be *' conscientiously'' mistaken, 
and herself" conscientiously" right. 

He was usually found in his own pulpit on the sab- 
bath, although when he exchanged it was with those 
ministers who composed the Cumberland Association, and 
who had subscribed its articles. We are not aware that 
he deviated from this course. The reasons for his de- 
sire to preach so exclusively to his own people, we are 
unable precisely to state. 

One reason may have been that his long cherished 
habits of private sabbath devotion, might thereby be in- 
terrupted ; a matter of great weight with him. Another 
reason may have been that a course of preaching as un- 
interrupted as possible, would be more advantageous to 
the spiritual interests of his people. 

When we saw a stranger in his pulpit it awakened no 
emotions of regret or disappointment. His people were 
always satisfied, and more than satisfied with their own 
minister : yet there were very able and sound preachers, 



J 84 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

in the neighborhood, with whom he exchanged, to 
whom we gave a cheerful welcome, for the sake of 
variety, if nothing else. And we were desirous that in 
other places, people might have opportunity to hear and 
judge of him for themselves. We were willing to part 
with him for a season, that others might be benefited by 
his labors. 

Several missions, longer or shorter, he performed for 
this special object. His sympathies were not exclusive. 
An ocean of them was in his heart, an ocean icide as it 
was deep. Hence his joy at hearing of the conversion of 
sinners, and his willingness to go, where he might be an 
instrument of saving souls. This practice is spoken of in 
his Memoir ; the effect of his memorable missions, are 
related by those among whom he went, to this day with 
deep interest. 

On a Sabbath in the year 1810, Rev. Mr. Miltimore of 
New Casco (now Falmouth) had preached in Mr. Pay^ 
son's pulpit, probably in exchange with the Senior Pas- 
tor ; Mr. Payson was with him in the pulpit. The Fal- 
mouth minister was a man ardent in temperament, and 
commonly waxed warmer and warmer during his dis- 
course. He was then speaking from the text in Jere- 
miah, '' Upon this I awoke, and behold my sleep was 
sw^eet unto me" &c. His subject and thoughts led him 
in the course of his remarks, to express a great desire 
for a revival among his ow^n people, such as he had just 
been describing ; the happy effects of the special influ- 
ences of the Spirit. Mr. Payson concluded the semces, 
by an earnest and fervent prayer, that his brother might 
more than realize his wishes, and that all present might 
pray that such a work might commence among that peo- 
ple, for whom their pastor had expressed so much solici- 
tude. 



CIIAPT^ER XIV. 

The faculty of attention and observation remarkably developed in 
Dr. Payson — His strong intuitive sagacity— Remarks on the 
great advantages to a minister of possessing a habit of observa- 
tion, and a knowledge of common things — The opinions of sev- 
eral eminent men relative to this subject — Illustrated by the ex- 
amples of Rev. Mr. Bunyan, Newton and Scott — The Minister 
always in his study. 

Dr. Payson, although he possessed a thoroughly disci- 
plined mind, was also largely endowed by nature with 
strong and intuitive sense. 

He had read lessons of wisdom, with an acute and ob- 
serving eye, in the various objects of nature. His ear 
was always open : every faculty was awake, intent on 
surveying events passing or past. He was contemplative, 
but not absent-minded. Objects of great magnitude and 
deep interest absorbed his attention, especially on account 
of their moral bearing, and the aid he might bring from 
them to elucidate truth. Deeply observant, of the works 
of God, and the history of man, he must have been, or he 
had not possessed that richly-jeweled mind, furnished and 
decorated as it was from the gathered spoils of his walks 
of usefulness or relaxation, or from the flights of his ex- 
cursive imaginations. He surveys the universe of suns 
and systems to bring down light and flame to irradiate 
and inspire his own soul, and to impart their brilliancy and 



T-S6 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

their heat to others. He walks among the tombs, and 
hears death's silent and impressive teachings. He walks 
upon the shore of the far-stretching ocean, and looks with 
admiration upon the world of waters, or watches the re- 
ceding wave, and the smooth surface it has left behind. 
He hears the voice of God, as he fixes his ear to the 
" sea-shell's ocean-sound ;" * and profitably moralises 
upon all these emblematic voices. 

The union of the imaginative faculty, with judgment 
and taste of v^inch we have before spoken, was manifested 
at a very early period of his life. From what we can 
learn from others, and with our own personal knowledge 
of him, it is evident that he possessed an early maturity 
of mind, with none of those fearful attendants usual to 
precocity of genius, which so often and so sadly leave the 
mildew and the blight upon the fragrant blossom of 
youthful promise. 

Dr. Payson's mind was of a vigorous, yet steady and 
manly growth. It grew fast, yet not at the expense of 
strength. There was no unhealthy development or 
disproportionate outline or feature ; but well-balanced, 
presenting a beautiful symmetry, which bare rule over 
the diversified complexity of his character. Compare 
him to the ship ; it is well-ballasted and manned ; him- 
self the prudent and skilful navigator. We feared for 
him no ocean breeze in its violence ; though he should 
spread every sail to the wind ; all was safe. 

Note. * The poet Lander gives an inimitable description of a 
river njunpli saying- to a shepherd, 

" I have sinuous shells of pearly hue ; 

" ^^hake one and it awakens ; then apply 

" Its polished lips to your attentive ear, 

*' And it remembers its aiLffust abodes, 

" And murmurs, as the Ocean murmurs there.'' 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON, 187 

The possession of this faculty of discernment or dis- 
crimination by Dr. Payson, is somewhat difficult to ac- 
count for, when it is considered that he was born and 
reared in comparative seclusion, amid rural scenes ; 
cloistered in the village library, and a mere bpok-worm 
from his childhood. We may suppose that the world 
was seen and read by him, principally through the me- 
dium of books. We say it is difficult to account for the 
fact that he was able so successfully afterwards, to sound 
the depths, and strike upon the springs within the 
human heart, and in such graphic peiicillings to sketch 
to th^ life Its wiudings and its intricacies in all 
their vast variety, with so masterly a hand, unless we 
are to ascribe this adroitness of delineation, to the accu- 
racy and diligtaice with which he had watched and scan- 
ned his own heart and life. 

With the same facility that he studied, and understood 
the printed page, he conned the wondrous volume of 
mankind. Upon the watch for the occasion, he would 
successfully explore the sources and phases of human 
passion, and do it with a single flash of his eye. 

When the Apostles would select those who should aid 
them in the work of spreading the Gospel, they directed 
that seven men be looked out, " who were" not only '' of 
good report, and full of the Holy Ghost, but of wisdom" 
also : the last named quality not less important than the 
first. If'* wisdom is knowledge practically applied to 
the best ends", if it is " sagacity, prudence, and judicious 
conduct," we see herein the wisdom of the Apostles. 
The same idea is contained in Paul's directions respect- 
ing the a{)pointment of bishops, when he says, " that he 
be not a /ioyice." Wo should be reasonable in our ex* 



188 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

pectations concerning this matter. For instance, we are 
not to suppose that a young man born and reared far 
from the sea-board, must understand about the rigging or 
the working of a ship, or possess practical knowledge of 
navigation, yet if one is to be selected to address a con- 
gregation principally composed of seamen, be should at 
least have been conversant with that class of men, and so 
well acquainted with their manners and customs, and the 
general principles of a sea-faring life, as to be able favor- 
ably to impress a sailor's mind by the appropriateness of 
the illustrations he employs, and thus make it evident 
that he understands his subject himself, and their charac- 
ter. If he does not possess such a knowledge or tact, he 
will be to them worse than a '• barbarian," and by his 
blunders will only defeat his intentions, however good 
they may be. 

Not, that when the sons of the ocean are addressed on 
the subject of religion, we are to make our discourses to 
abound with sea phrases, in order, as we may suppose, 
the better to please them, or to fix their attention, or to 
place the truth upon their minds. We learn the error of 
such a course from the remarks of seamen themselves. 
They are disgusted when addressed in this way. In his 
proper sphere, on shipboard, let the sailor be sailor ; he 
will be ; but when we would teach him the way of life, 
let him hear the gospel in the same language as 
we speak to other men ; otherwise they will] deem it an 
insinuation, that they are ignorant of the use of common 
language. A course so objectionable as the former, may 
be avoided by the judicious manner of the preacher, and 
yet in his general appeals to his audience, he may pre- 
serve the peculiar spirit of his mission, and by incidental 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON.. 189 

allusions to that course of life, may explain, illustrate and 
apply the truth with very happy effect. 

There are instances abounding among ministers, of a 
lack of knowledge of common things, appertaining to 
secular life, or what some would not inappropriately call 
want of common sense, which must almost entirely de- 
feat a minister's usefulness, however learned in the 
schools, or polite or agreeable he may be in the circles in 
which he moves, or however eloquent in the pulpit. 

Again, it is equally obvious that in cities and large 
towns, (in ordinary cases) a person totally unacquainted 
with the manners and observances of polite circles, 
must, while remaining ignorant of those usages, be far 
less acceptable or useful on that account, although with a 
good education and good common sense, he will in this 
respect soon qualify himself to move in such a sphere 
with propriety. Cowper deprecates the practice of 

" Laying hands on skulls that cannot teach and will not learn.'* 

The minister must learn not only to suit the ac- 
tion to the word in his preaching, but he must suit his 
language and behavior to the circumstances of his con- 
dition, and to the habits and expectations of his people, in 
his ministerial intercourse with them. He must become 
not only " all things to all men," but he must know how 
to be so, with the least possible offence. 

In most cases, doubtless, the defect we speak of, is to 
be attributed to the want of attention and observation. 
One traveler treasures up a volume of ipcidents and gen- 
eral knowledge respecting the country he visits, while 
another returns with his head upon his shoulders, it is true, 
but with it as empty as when he commenced his travels, . 



190 llECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

One has had his eyes and cars open and a recording pen 
in his hand, the other has seen nothing, heard nothing. — 
In the several professions, men have arisen to eminence 
or remained stationary, or sunk far below mediocrity, as 
they have cultivated a habit of observation, or failed to 
do it. 

We do not advert to Dr. Payson, as the only example 
among ministers of an uncommon maturity of judgment, 
or development of the observing faculty. Yet he pos- 
sessed this faculty in a high degree, and so have others, 
whose proficiency and success in their ministerial course, 
has been signally marked from- its commencement to its 
close. The value of such a habit is not easily over-esti- 
mated. 

A young man leaves the secluded and quiet society 
of the country, leaves his plough and his hoe, his 
flocks and herds, for his books, and spends eight or ten 
years it may be, in pursuit of those literary and theolog- 
ical acquirements which the Vvork of the ministry de- 
mands. That the knowledge he has thus obtained is 
valuable, admits of no doubt. But mio-ht he not become 
vastly more useful and more successful as a minister, 
more healthy in body, and practically wiser, if he were 
to spend some of that time in reading men more, and hooks 
le?s ? or at least if he were to devoe a suitable portion of 
time before settling over a parish, to some pursuit of a 
kindred character, where he rn's^ht obtain a knowledge of 
mankind, thar wo i!d the better tit hitn for his anticipated 
eiitpioymcnt ? It would not be considered as lost time. — 
Hp would be acqui/inti a veiy essential part of a ministe- 
rial education. 

Why is it that so many young ministers hreokdoum be- 
fore the h:»r .ess is well fiited to their backs } There must 



EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 191 

be a fault somewhere. Have they not overtasked their 
minds at first in order to secure popularity at the ex- 
pense of health, bringing with them into the ministry 
constitutions impaired by neglect, a nervous system de- 
ranged, and minds overtasked almost to the point of utter 
ruin. Such a course is suicidal. It were better to have 
stepped upon a lower round of the ladder at first, or 
to have struck an hour at the beginning sonnewhat less 
than twelve ; if ambition merely prompted him in his as- 
pirations, it was surely an ignoble one ; if a desire to be 
eminently and permanently useful in his calling, he has 
mistaken the means ; his design has failed of its accom- 
plishment. In most cases, popularity built on such a 
basis will soon be on the wane. He m.ust be a man of 
much general knowledge, and especially a knowledge of 
the Bible, and of reflection ; of powers inured to study 
in his youth, and possessing an attentive and observing 
mind such as we have spoken of, in order to be able to 
fill his discourses with original and well elaborated 
thoughts. These will be his sources of intellectual 
wealth whereby he shall be able to feed his people. 
Such characters as we are now considering are found 
here and there among men. Dr. Pay son was a rare 
example. 

Dr. Johnson remarks, that '^ to illustrate one thing by 
its resemblance to another, has been always the most 
popular and cflicacious art of instruction."" Dr. Payson 
had a reniarktible skill in this art, as we have Itelbro 
hinted. "A minister," says one, ''should aUvays be in 
his study ; " not literally so ; nor so intent on his mus- 
mgs as to discover an awkward absc'nt-n»iii(lriliiess, 
sometimes seen; but \\\r. writer obviously means that 
a minister should be always and every whci-e the discern- 
ing, diligent, accuniulaliiig student. 



192 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOlSf. 

It has been said that Dr. Payson availed himself of 
such an auxiliary in his preaching, and thereby greatly 
enriched and enlarged his stores of illustration. Not- 
withstanding what may have been said by some to 
depreciate this peculiar trait in his preaching, whether 
from conviction, or for other reasons, we think there can 
be no question as to the vast utility of the exercise of 
this noble quality. Were this excursive habit to be culti- 
vated more assiduously by ministers, as it was by Dr. 
Payson, they would be better able to endure the expen- 
diture which they, are constantly called upon to make. 
And let reading, and reflection, and imagmation — each 
in its turn, and combined, bring in their quota of mate- 
rial, not to be transcribed into their sermons as with the 
hand of plagiarism, but to so be in-wrought by the process 
of an easy and natural digestion, that they shall incorpor- 
ate with the system, — forming the blood, muscle and 
nerve,^ — which diffuse coloring, or impart strength and 
elasticity to the v^hole discourse. 

Let the minister cultivate this observing habit by 
imitating the ship-builder in pursuit of timber for his 
ship. He is in the forest. See him select this stick for 
the keel, and that for a rib^ and that for a knee^ and so 
on — he goes through the forest for some purpose. Anoth- 
er of a different stamp, idly and unobservantly wends his 
heedless way, prompted neither by curiosity nor design. 
He has stooped to gather — not a leaf of the valley, nor 
a flower of the mountain. He can scarcely tell you 
whether the forest is in its summer foliage, or autumr. 
robes. His heedless and random footstep has merely 
crushed the bramble, while the woodland scenery has 
been to him a blank. 

Happy for the future minister^ if in the child is seen 
the springing up of this hopeful quality. And the father 



EECOLLECTIOXS OF PAYSoN. 193 

may see it, (and he should encourage it,) as in his 
morning ride, when his little son at his side remarks 
upon the goldfinch that has flown affrighted at your 
approach : or the eagle in her lofiy track over your 
head, or the aritic leap of the hare as it makes for its 
forest fastness. Much of usefulness and promise may 
be seen in these early developments ; and they will mark 
the man as they mark the child. 

Men distinguished in all the professions, owe their 
success very much to the cultivation oi" the faculty of 
observation. We could easily mention names. Let 
there be a training of this faculty, if it exist at all in the 
young m.ind. Without its development and improve- 
ment in some good degree, the future lawyer loses his 
case ; the physician his patient and his practice ; and 
too often the minister much of his labor. His sermons, 
however methodical and squared by rule and compass, 
will be lean and dry ; and his intercourse among his 
people will be likely to be unprofitable and unappreci- 
ated. These men have got their lessons from their 
books, they are well-read, but this special tact of which 
we speak, they cannot learn from books. 

I knew a man, a ship-master, who, without education, 
without a knowledge of the theory of navigation, had 
crossed and recrossed the Atlantic very many times, 
always successfully, by mere dint of a practical sound 
judgment, and a wakeful and careful observation. 
Another I knew, who had carefully studied the princi- 
ples of navigation, yet had he been put on board of a 
ship, would have discovered his incompetency to mark 
the ship's progress, or shape her course for a single 
twenty-four hours. The latter case was an instance of 
one who had obtained his knowledge in the chimney- 

u 



194 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON, 

corner. We must have tools ^ we must also understand 
how to use them adroitly. To " take an observation," 
and to " heave the log," you must go to sea for it. So, 
one who has the science and tact of anglings and un- 
derstands all about the brook and the fish, will catch 
enough for dinner in half an hour. By his side, or near 
by, stands another who baits his hook, and throws his 
line in vain. The fish lie frightens by his shadow, or 
he jerks his line prematurely or too suddenly. 

The foregoing remarks, although somewhat of a digres- 
sive character, we trust will not be viewed as a departure 
from the original design of this work, or if to illustrate 
still further this invaluable habit under consideration, we 
adduce two or three remarkable examples as testimony 
in its favor. We shall refer to the Rev. Messrs. Thomas 
Scott, John Bunyan and John Newton. We have not se- 
lected these men because they were " uneducated" in the 
common, though we think, false acceptation of the term. 

These men were all possessed of strong native mtel- 
lectual powers as their works abundantly testify. They 
were educated in very different schools, were trained 
thoroughly in the ways of sin and satan, yet in their 
blindness, they were led in a '' way they knew not." — 
What education or the learning of the schools had not 
done for them, must be supplied from some other source, 
and in some other way. God fitted them for their 
work. He was their instructor, and " none teacheth like 
him." He " opened their ear to receive instructions" 
from the great volume of the world ; the men and things 
of the world, and of Providence. This faculty of deep 
observation in them was doubtless natural. Yet its de- 
velopment and cultivation, v;as the fruit of their own ef- 
fort and peculiar circumstancs. What they did, others 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOIn^. 195 

may do. Of the first-mentioned, we have only to open 
his '* Commentary," his '' Force of Truth," and his 
Works generally, to witness the sage reflections, the 
discriminating power, and acute observation, of a prolific 
and comprehensive mind. A mere knowledge of books 
would have been entirely inadequate to have furnished 
him with materials for his " Practical Observations.^' 
A close attention to the workings of his own heart, and 
deductions from his own life and experience, applied 
with great judgment in elucidation of the sacred text, 
have given his Commentary its world-wide celebrity. 
And he was improving upon these natural advantages all 
his days. Might it not be seen to what he was advanc- 
ing in after life ; what such a youth would be, who, after 
w^alking twenty miles of a forenoon, could then catch and 
shear eleven sheep of liis father'' s flock in the afternoon. 
His mind, also, gathered strength and amplitude from the 
early formed habit of noticing whatever passed around and 
within him. Might we not expect that in his strong mus- 
cled mind, there was lodged sufficient power to grapple, as 
he did, with the offspring of that goat of a Paine ; bind 
it hand and foot, and ham-string and — yea, skin it, 
and throw out the carcase, which the carrion-infidels 
yet feed upon to this day.'^ 

And who was John Newton ? Well known, the chris- 
tian world over, as the shrewd, sagacious, popular minis- 
ter, and once the despised and degraded African blas- 
phemer. With but a scanty knowledge derived from 
books, he was yet a profound student of the works of 
God, a close observer of the workings of his own heart, 
and everywhere a learner ; always in his study, long be- 
fore he became a minister. 

^Allusion is here made to "Scull's Auswcr to Paiue'a Ayoof Ilea- 
sou." 



196 KECOLLECTIOXS OF PAYSON\ 

He had not paced the quarter-deck of his ship, on 
a star-lio;ht evenincr without o-aiherino; a lesson from the 
bespangled firmament, the unforgotten alphabet of which 
he had been taught by his godly mother, on many just 
such an evening. Stowed away in the forecastle beneath 
the waters, his observing eye was fathoming the myste- 
rious depths of the depraved hearts of his companions ; 
his own conscience witnessing at the same time, to a 
more wretched counterpart of ungodliness in his own. 
V/as he not here, in this school of awful depravity, re- 
ceiving lessons for future use, when he should stand in 
the pulpit at Olney and St. Mary-Woolnoth, London ; 
to tell man of his ruin and his remedy, and to gather 
listening multitudes by his popularity, within the walls of 
a church in the great metropolis of the world ? 

No, he had not mingled with the different races and 
conditions of men in all possible positions and circum- 
stances, and received no instruction from such a volume 
of living men and manners. Given up to his ow^n reflec- 
tions in the midst of his misery and guilt, and lacerated 
by the accusing spirit within ; compelled " while on the 
coast of Africa, a servant of servants, to wash his only 
shirt upon the rocks, and to put it upon his back to pry" — 
the finger of God's Providence was inscribing in endur- 
ing letters upon his mind a humiliating yet profitable les- 
son. From these lowest depths of hell, the leaves of 
which he wrote there, he turned over and over again,* 
when in that London ''study,''' he would enrich his Cardi- 
phonia and his Omicron, and his discourses for the Sab- 
bath, with illustrations, to utter to a people that hung up- 
on his lips ; truths that told upon the conscience of a 
Buchanan, a Scott or a Wilberforce, and through them to 
the edification of the christian world. Three or four 
large octavo volumes of letters and sermons, and other 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 197 

Vv'orksj full of wisdom, witness to the importance of a 
well-cultivated and observing mind. 

And who, what child, even, has not seen the picture 
of what Cowper calls the " Ingenious Dreamer,'' and his 
pilgrim with the burden on his back, looking up to the 
cross, Bunyan had talked heart to heart. He had ex- 
plored the folios of fancy ; he had sounded the depths of 
sin. His wisdom was dearly bought. Books, he had 
scarcely read any, yet to no one does the remark better 
apply than to Bunyan, " beware of the man of one hook^ 
He obtained his knowledge somewhere, Wherq ? Unob- 
served and almost unconsciously, from the thousand inci- 
dents of every day, he was gathering up thoughts of 
usefulness in his deeply reflective mind« 

These thoughts came in from the high-ways and the 
hedges, and from every quarter ; and they were of eve- 
ry size, color and shape. From the regiment of the 
King's soldiery which he viewed, and from accounts of 
battles fought, his memory was furnished with materials 
for his ^'Holy War." The tinker's mental eye was far 
away, searching into deep subjects, while his natural eye 
was prying into his customer's tea-keitle to discover its 
leak ; and choice thoughts were being hammered out in 
that prolific brain of his, that were to outsound the strokes 
of his brawny arm, which fell upon the sounding brass. 
His twelve years in Bedford jail were equal to three col- 
lego courses. He prayed in the dungeon, and read his 
precious Bible there, and then came forth to the more 
open light of day ; while his eye peered through his 
grated window upon the countenances of those who, from 
curiosity, or any other motive, visited him ; not by any 



198 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

means unobservant of those faces, nor with an ear unat- 
tentive to the remarks of the passer by. 

In that gloomy receptacle, however, he was furnishing 
himself with weapons for future warfare. His own " Dia- 
bolus" and '^ Apollyon" shall feel the sturdy blows from 
those weapons, and " Mansoul" shall be free, for so has 
the great king, " Shaddai," decreed ; who afterwards 
" sent and signified it by his servant Jo/m." And no one 
could have written '* Grace Abounding," who had not 
been conversant in the school of Satan and of the Holy 
Ghost. 

If not from books, then, from whence the wisdom and 
ingenuity contained in the volumes he has written ; read 
now by all, and wondered at by all, aud pronounced by 
all, from the classic scholar to the most illiterate in the 
community, worthy to be ^' placed upon the shelf," as 
among the most highly approved and finished authors. 

His education was, if possible, worse than none ; at 
one time a mere strolling vagabond, a walking nuisance 
of the streets, and yet a harner, an acute observer, all 
this while. He had picked up the golden ideas some- 
how and somewhere ; and stuffed them away in the 
crannies of his brain, as the penurious miser stows away 
his treasures into some secret apartment, which are all 
discovered after he is dead and buried, and he is found to 
be a rich man in all his external beggary. Every parti- 
cle of his knowledge, John Bunyan worked up ; he re-cast, 
he hammered, he polished, he spread it out, and it is now 
enriching the minds of millions. Thus, without learning, 
without books, without ordinary instructions, the great 
living world, in its ten thousand phases, was constantly 
teachino; him. 



KECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOX. 199 

Let the reader pardon this excursion, and when he 
considers that we left the presence of Dr. Payson, to 
return, after making our obeisance to those excellent 
men, whom the Dr. himself loved to visit, whom he 
highly respected, esteeming it a privilege to draw from 
them sonie rare gem wherewith to adorn his own 
discourses. 



RAFTER XV. 



VISIT TO RIXDGE, N. H. 



A knowledge of some of Dr. Payson's youthful charac- 
teristics, we have obtained during a recent visit to his 
native village. Some of these were related to us while 
there by several of the companions of his childhood ; 
and others have since been communicated by letter. 
The visit, our impressions, and the information we ob- 
tained respecting him and the family connections, may 
not be considered out of place, if introduced here. 

We had for some time been desirous of visiting the 
place of Payson's birth and the scenery of his childhood. 
The village of Rindge, New Hampshire, is pleasantly 
situated, about sixty miles ?>. \V. from Boston, and is a 
border town on the Massachusetts line, adjoining New Ips- 
wich, w^here is a respectable Academy, at which Ed- 
ward Payson prepared for College. His father the Eev. 
Seth Payson, D. D., w^as the settled pastor over the Con- 
gregational church in Rindge, for nearly forty years. He 
died in 1S20, aged 6*2. The church edifice of a very 
fine model and respectable appearance is still standing. 
It is the house of God where the son first publicly devo- 
ted himself to the Savior ; and in which his voice was 
often afterwards heard as a herald of that Savior, to 
the admiration of his father's flock, many ot vrhom were 
the companions of his youth. His first appearance /i; 



B^COLLECTIOXS OE PAl'BON. 201 

his father's pulpit would excite of course considerable cu- 
riosity among the villagers while listening to the youthful 
preacher who had been reared an^ong them, but who had 
been absent for several years. Their expectations res- 
pecting his pulpit talents v/ere more than realized. 
They had known his great diffidence when he left for 
College ; and although he was distinguished as a leader 
among the boys in their youthful pastimes, and public 
school exhibitions, in which he discovered no special ex- 
cellence of oratory, yet when ,they came to see his 
christian boldness in the pulpit ; to hear his deep-toned 
manly voice, and the solemn utterance of the most 
weighty truths, the fine style of his compositions, re- 
marks one " I was surprised, and I have viewed him 
since as rather the greatest preacher I know of. We 
thought much of his visits and his preaching after that." 
He was a prophet with honor in his own country. That 
germ of intellect was unfolding, that heart of piety had 
begun to weep over the guilt and miseries of lost men, 
and he enters upon his Great Master's work with a zeal 
that should never know extinguishing or abatement — a 
zeal enkmdled not by vain ambition, but warming with 
more and more fervency as years rolled away. 

'^ Edward Payson," writes one, '* when a lad, was 
quite fond of active amusements gould, bat ball, racino- 
(fee. He was a very swift runner, seldom outdone or 
overtaken by any one ; he was a leader in most of the in- 
nocent sports common among his playfellows, and when 
'' Sides were chosen" either for spelling in school, or for 
sports upon the common, the ^' Captain" having the rio-ht 
of choosing first, it was usually cor^eidercd the victory to 
be his own before the contest began. Me was acquaint- 
ed with all the rules of play, and when disputes arose as 



202 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

was often the case, the matter was soon settled by an ap- 
peal toPayson,noone doubting his knowledge or integrity. 

One of his more frequent playmates, related to me an 
incident of a winter evening. She said her boys, Payson 
among the number, were sliding upon the hard snow 
down a steep hill, when Payson, always first in the sport, 
near the foot of the hill was upset, the sled coming in 
contact with a wall, and he was thrown with violence into 
a deep ravine, uttering at the same time a fearful groan. 
His fellow-sliders soon gathered around him, he was mo- 
tionless, and, as they supposed, breathless ; all were 
greatly alarmed ; one and another exclaimed, '' What can 
be done ? what can we do ? how shall we get him 
home ?" when suddenly, to their great joy and surprise, 
up sprung their supposed dead companion, and seizing 
his sled, shouted '' Come boys, now for another slide," 
and with the speed of a Fox ran up the hill. 

In the wniter of 1801, Edward Payson, acted some 
prominent parts in a " School Exhibition" and his Part 
in the Comedy v/hich was the prominent feature of the 
Exhibition, was that of a profligate and a dissembler, and 
he seemed to enter into the true spirit of the play with 
great life and energy. 

A person in the service of his Father when Edward was 
a student in Cambridge, relates, that on a home visit he 
arrived at midnight having walked 30 or 35 miles. On 
the morning after his return, a conversation between 
Mrs. Payson and Edward, was partly overheard, which he 
supposed, related to religious belief, Mrs. Payson say- 
ing, " your Father will pick you all to pieces." 

That part of the incident just related, respecting the 
conversation between Edward and his mother (which 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 203 

was doubtless of a religious character) shows that his 
religious views had undergone some change during his 
absence. 

His good mother, it would seem, although well quali- 
fied for the task, did not choose to enter into the argument 
with her son, but to refer him to his father, who she well 
knew was able '' to pick him all to pieces." 

She probably breasted this first and unexpected onset, 
with outspoken courage ; still her heart, with sad misgiv- 
ings was ready to sink within her ; while she thought 
upon the fearful consequences of his renouncing the re- 
ligious belief in which he had been trained ; that all 
her pleasing anticipations she had so fondly cherished 
respecting the usefulness of her first-born, were now in 
imminent jeopardy ; until by one strong, up-heaving 
prayer of the mother'' s heart, she brought down into her 
bosom the consolation of that divine promise contained in 
the everlasting covenant, " 1 will be a God to thee and to 
thy seed after thee." A voice seemed to say " Peace, 
thou daughter of Abraham ; thy son shall live," for he is 
to be a " witness for me and a chosen vessel to bear my 
name." 

It may be remarked in this connection, that the parents 
of Edward were both persons of eminent piety and tal- 
ents, and very highly esteemed as such in that region. 
Dr. Payson had long sustained his reputation as a godly 
and able pastor among his flock in Rindge. His memory 
is precious among his people to this day. When the 
subject was being discussed as to the manner of disposino- 
of his lato dwelling honso, his poc^pln with great unanini'ty 
and re.spcct, v(j1(m1 to retain and ro[)air it ; and it now 
bears the honorable appellation of the '' Payson Mansion." 
The building is a fine, ample structure, beautifully loca- 



204 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

ted upon a rising ground that overlooks the village, and 
is now occupied by the Rev. A. W. Burnham, his very 
worthy successor in the ministry. 

So brief a visit adn^itted only of a hasty ramble over 
the premises, where Edward Payson had spent the 
morning of his life ; where 

" With hasty step? he brushed the dewy lawn." 

We had the pleasure of being seated in the room 
where he had so often knelt with the beloved circle in 
morning and evening devotions ; to visit the grave- 
yard where the ashes of his departed relatives slum- 
ber ; and to make a few pleasant calls upon such as 
had known him, to hear from their lips what they might 
recollect in the scenes of his youth. - 

Strangers have stood at Payson's tomb ; they have 
loved to visit the place of his eminent labors ; to stand 
in his pulpit, and to inquire respecting him whose honest 
fame is abroad through the land, honored of God and 
man. They also repair to the place of his nativity, 
actuated by no ignoble curiosity, to behold where that 
life commenced, which had been filled up with so much 
piety and usefulness. 

We called on a lady there, far advanced in years ; 
when she understood that the object of our visit was to 
make inquiries respecting Edward Payson ; " Oh !" said 
she, " I have just been reading about him ; why what a 
creature he was ; what a man he became before he died. 
When I read about him, his confessions of sin and un- 
worthiness, what can I think of myself." 

Mrs. S — ^ a very intelligent, elderly lady, of Kindge, 
under date of October, 1854,writes as follows : — (The 



EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 205 

letter is ins,erted nearly entire, and in the precise lan- 
guage of its author ; it does credit to her understanding 
and her heart. It contains incidents of sufficient inter- 
est, we think, respecting the early-developed traits of 
Payson's mind and heart, to warrant its insertion here,") 

" He was a thorough scholar, but not so quick in his 
lessons as some others, but would have them complete, 
and being of a retentive memory, could always bring 
them up for immediate use, he was obedient to his teacher, 
and pleasant to his schoolmates ; although he was shrewd, 
and often would be playing little sly tricks upon his 
mates, (nothing injurious) but to make sport, and in such 
a way as not often to give offence ; but if he thought he 
had wounded any one's feelings, such was his tenderness 
and humility, he would immediately repair to him with 
such language as the following : " My dear, do not be of- 
fended ; I have done wrong, although I intended no 
harm. Will you forgive me ? I will do so no more^ 
May I take your hand ? " &c. 

" He was observing. On one occasion, (I have heard 
his mother say,) when he was but a mere child, his father 
had made an exchange with a neighboring minister, 
whose discourses were always very short. On his return 
from church with his mother, he said, ^' Mamma, I like 
Mr. A, better than 1 do papa." Why, my son ? said the 
parent. " Because," said he, " he does it so much 
quicker." 

*' He was modest and free from ostentation, as he grew 
up into manhood ; he was polite to others, preferring them 
before himself — ^was of few words, though not unsocial. 

" He was truthful and conscientious. On one occasion 
there was an article in the house which was found injured 
and laid away in a corner, rather out of sight ; the oiFence 



206 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

was charged to a younger brother, who denied all knowl- 
edge of the affair; but his father disbelieved him, and 
was about to punish hini for the offence and for the denial. 
Just at this time Edward entered, begged the father not 
to punish brother C, but to punish himself, (i. e. Edward.) 
for he was the one who had done the deed, and ac- 
knowledged his guilt in not confessing it at the time. 

" When he was quite a child, as soon as he was able to 
contemplate, he seemed to have a sense of the Divine 
presence. On one occasion, the writer was visiting his 
sister at their father's house, (at this time he was, perhaps, 
ten or twelve,) Edward and his sister Grata, brother 
Charles and perhaps more of the younger ones, with my- 
self, were playing together like other children. I do not 
know that we were particularly noisy or rude in our play, 
but Edward felt more of the presence of God than tlie 
rest of us, and addressing himself to Charles, said, 
" brother, God sees us, we are not setting holy examples 
before our younger brethren. Instead of play, let us 
read the Bible," and did so. 

'* He was, at times, from early childhood, apparently 
thoughtful of his soul, often speaking to others upon the 
subject. On one occasion Grata was at my father's, 
and he came to carry her home. When he came into 
the house, after some common-place remarks, said he: 
" Girls, if we mean to be christians, we must ' take time 
by the forelock,' now is the time. The Bible gives us no 
promise of another day. We may die this night, if so, 
where will our souls be ?" At this time he was perhaps 
fifteen. 

*' He was filial, ever considerate of his parents, obedi- 
ent to them, or if, at any time, he was otherwise, he 



I 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 207 

would immediately confess his fault and ask forgiveness, 
and reform. He was fraternal ; being the oldest of the 
family, he always manifested a sympathy and tender care 
for the younger children. On one occasion, when a 
daughter was born to his parents, ( they had only one 
daughter among many sons,) he said to Grata, (who was 
next to himself,) " you have now got a sister, although I 
love her and hope not to be wanting in attention to her, 
yet to you belongs the more especial duty of helping 
molher to bring her up. There are many things in which 
she will need a sister's attention more than a brother's. 
I shall soon be away, O, be faithful ; mother, you know, 
is feeble, father's time always occupied, and when I am 
away, on yourself will rest the care which belongs to the 
oldest in the family — be faithful, again I say, be faithful 
both to body and soul." 

" These words, with many more like unto them, his sis- 
ter communicated to the writer with tears. 

" After he united with his father's church, he seemed 
particularly anxious for one in the place whom he knew 
had long been halting about making a profession ; said 
he, '' for what are you waiting ? to make yourself better ? 
I have been waiting for that these many years, and grew 
worse all the time^ and so will you. Christ only can heal 
the sin-sick soul, go to him in his own way." 

" At his father's death, he could not be present at the fu- 
neral, but was at his mother's side to sympathise as soon 
as possible. His feelings were such that he could not 
enter his deceased father's pulpit at that time, but deliv- 
ered a discourse to the people in the school-house, from 
Heb.3 : 7, 8, and such a discourse as will not soon be ef- 
faced from the minds of many of the hearers. 



208 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOX. 

'' Now, sir, accept my best wishes for your success in 
this undertaking, that the blessing of God may go with 
your volume as it goes out into the world, and you receive 
an abundcint reward in your own bosom for your la- 
bors." 

It comes not within our province to enter with minute- 
ness into Dr.Payson's family relations, either of consan- 
guinity or by marriage ; yet as some mention is made in 
the remarks of the letter just quoted,respecting the family, 
it gives us pleasure to state that his sister Grata, as we well 
know from personal acquaintance,wasvery much of a kin- 
dred spirit with her brother Edward. She was married to 
the Rev. Asa Rand*, who was settled in Gorham, Me., and 
died comparatively young, but '^ full of faith and good 
works," as many nov/ living in the place of her husband's 
labors can cheerfully testify. Madam Payson, the mother 
of Edward, was accounted a very superior woman, both in 
intellect and piety. This fact is obvious from the pub- 
lished correspondence between them, and from other 
sources. A lady of Rindge informed the writer that 
" Mrs. Payson was esteemed as some superior being 
among them." It may have been matter of surprise with 
those who have read the first published memoir of Dr . 
Payson, that his letters were addressed principally to his 
mother. It is easy to account for this circumstance from 



^Mv. Rand is now living, and still preaches. He is a sound divine 
of the old school, and has been a successful preacher. And it gives 
us pleasure to remark that his memory is still grateful to the people of 
his tirst charge ; Ihey speak most respectfull>' of his holy work among 
them, and the efficiency of his labors, the conservative influence of 
•which is seen there to this day. Mr. iland was one with whom Dr. 
Payson more frequently exchanged than with any other. And as 
much as we esteemed our own minister's preaching, we were always 
glad to sec Mr. R. in the pulpit. He gave us finely-written, strongly- 
indoctrinated, choice sermons; with not so much of imagination as 
Dr. Payson. but clear, solemn, practical and pungent. 



^^H 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 209 

the early and tender intimacy which usually exists be- 
tween a mother and a son, and the permanent character 
of the influence which this early and endeared acquain-^ 
tance generally produces. The father is *' busy here and 
there,'" and much of the son's intellectual and moral de- 
velopment is commonly the work of maternal care and 
solicitude. Doddridge and Newton, and many others, are 
examples of this maternal influence. No doubt can bo 
entertained in Dr. Payson's case, respecting his father's 
fidelity to him. But a mother ! ye who are sons know 
all about this endearing relatiot^ ; how it constitutes one 
of the last ties on earth that are broken ; is the last that 
grows- cold ; her name the last that grows tiresome to the 
ear, of ingenuous filial affection. 

Mr. Pcjyson, of Portsmouth, N. H., has furnished 
us with a part of the Payson genealogy, but we deem it 
unimportant to say more on that subject, than that Ed* 
ward Payson descended from the branch at Eoxbury, 
Mass., and that one of the collateral relations was mar- 
ried to '' Eliot," the renowned missionary among the In^ 
dians. 



CIIAPTEB, XVI. 

Dr. Payson in person — Personal habits — His portraits generally 
incorrect — Anecdote of Henry Clay — Dr. Payson's solemnity 
of countenance misconstrued — He was not morose nor forbid- 
ding — His views of God's purposes with regard to his bodily 
infirmities — Remarkably free from all approach to rudeness or 
incivility— His tender and sympathetic feelings — Punctuality 
in his engagements. 

Something will be expected by our readers descriptive 
of the person and personal habits of the subject of this 
memoir. 

DR. PAYSON IN PERSON.* 

In stature, Dr. Payson was of a medium size ; broad- 
chested, erect in form, and active in his motions. His 
frame was indicative of great muscular strength, his 
head large and well-proportioned ; a broad, perpendicular 



*Says a late Reviewer in the " Living Age : " " People do 
like to know all that they can about the personal appearance and 
habits of any celebrated man or woman in whom they take an 
interest. They instinctively feel that they have a firmer hold of 
any historical personage, and can understand better all that he 
did, or could do, when they have authentic information about his 
face, figure, stature, voice, dress, gait, and ordinary manner of 
behavior. Nor are they far wrong. When, for example, one is 
told that Thomas Aquinas was such a big, silent fellow that he 
used to be called the " large, mute ox of Sicily," one certainly 
does see the old school man with a degree of corporeal distinct- 
ness which assists wonderfully in giving a human interest to his 
metaphysics. So, again, when we know that Cromwell had a 
" salmon colored " face, our ideas of the whole history of his 



RECOLLECTION'S OF PAYSOxNT, 211 

forehead ; hair jet black, which he commonly wore 
short. His nose was moderately large and well set ; his 
eyes were dark hazel approaching to black ; full of soul 
and tenderness of expression — full, but not prominent ; 
his mouth usually a little open ; his lips seldom com- 
pressedc Generally there was considerable color in his 
face. He walked fast, with a slight inclination of his 
head, and literally observing the scriptural maxim, " let 
thine eyes look right on, and thine eyelids strait before 
thee." Whether ill or well he always met you with a 
benignant smile. 

We understand a person's character in proportion as 
we obtain a correct idea of his personal looks and habits. 

We regret to say that no portrait of Dr. Payson which 



period will be more correct than if we went, or as many have 
done, fancying him a swart man." '' Again, much as was written 
about Coleridge, before Mr. Carlyle published his well-known 
description of him, we believe that every reader of the book will 
confess that he has known the sage a great deal better since Mr. 
(yarlyle reproduced, and by clever typographical aid, conveyed to 
the eye his recollection of the kind of humming sniffle with 
v/hich the sage spoke," &c. 

Pedants and philosophers are apt to have a horror of such gos- 
sip, and do not willingly condescend to it themselves. But in lit- 
erature, recently, the tide has been going against them, and the 
*' dignity of history " has been obliged to bend its knees a little. 
It is considered an essential part of the modern biographic art, 
that in the story of any man's life, the biographer shall contrive 
to inweave, not only any interesting letters or other similar ema- 
nations from the man's own pen, that may survive, but also as 
much information as he can possibly scrape together, respecting 
the man's eyes, nose and mouth, his legs and feet, the color of 
his coat, the dishes he liked for dinner, the hour of his getting up 
in the morning, his favorite authors and pet quotations, the condi- 
tion of his aunts and other relatives, and the temper and economic 
talent of liis wife." 

" It is desirable that, in personal delineations of eminent men, 
we should have as accurate information as possibk) regarding their 
faces, voice, and pronounciation, degree and liability to disease, 
dress and household habits, temper and degree of sociability, atti- 
tude, gesture, and back-ground of characteristic circumslances," 



812 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOX. 

has been published with his life or works, gives a correct 
expression of his face. Some of them border even on 
cariacature. His picture accompanying the last pub- 
lished edition of his life and writings, is of great artistic 
excellence ; but like the others, it fails to give you the 
expression of his remarkable countenance. Any one 
who has seen this picture, will perceive easily enough 
that no one else but Dr. P. was intended to be represent- 
ed by it. The same may be said of some of the others. 
There is one, however, which was first published, and 
which may be seen hanging upon the parlor walls of 
many of his friends, which is altogether the most correct 
likeness of any that has appeared. It is, upon the 
whole, a pretty good one. It has something of a som- 
bre cast of expression, but it is he — the man himself, as 
he appeared when his soul was absorbed in the contem- 
plation of divine truth, especially when publicly address- 
ing immortal souls on the subject of eternity. 

We are aware that a delineation of the features may 
be drawn with much artistical accuracy so that it will be 
difficult to jpoint out any prominent defect ; and yet, a 
lack of genuine expression will be detected by such as 
have seen the original. The contour of the head, and 
the general outlines of the face are correct in all the 
pictures of him that we have seen, and so of the upper 
part of his face. The defect of which we complain re- 
specting the last picture which has been published, lies 
in the region of the mouth. The artist has not given us 
the true expression of that most significant feature of the 
human face ; an expression more difficult we are in- 
formed, for the limner to catch, and to transfer perfectly 
to the canvas, than any other. Hence the fact, that 
there is no other feature of the face, where the slightest 



RECOLLECtlONS OF PAYSON. 213 

inaccuracy v/ould be so observable, and which so essen-^ 
tially affects the general expression. Some one in de- 
scribing the face of Henry Clay, remarks, that, " his 
mouth speaks for itself.^' '' The portrait of a man is 
sure to be insipid," says one, " unless the artist repre- 
sents him in the attitude, and under the agency of some 
great and povverful passion." Said Mr. Clay, in his 
address to a committee who had presented him with a 
medal containing his likeness : '' The artists have not 
generally succeeded in taking miy features, for my face 
never long retains the same expression ; and especially 
when 1 am under any excitement, it changes every 
moment. John Randolph once paid me the highest com- 
pliment I ever received. He said that wherever a debate 
is coming on, if I can get a sight of Mr. Clay's face, I 
can always tell which side he is going to take." The 
difficulty of the limners in securing their object in the 
case of Mr. Clay and others, where the ever-chang- 
ing emotions of the soul are constantly chasing 
each other in their fitful flight from '' gay to grave," 
would not be so great in Dr. Payson's case, where the 
peculiar and prominent passion of the soul was habit- 
ually outspoken and became almost exclusively stamped 
upon the countenance. Yet it was not dull, but animated 
and strongly expressive. Not that his countenance 
never relaxed ; it did, frequentl}'', into a heavenly smile. 
Whatever idea may be gathered respecting his counte- 
nance, from his own account of himself, as portrayed in 
his writings ; or whatever from tradition, by remarks 
well meant or ill meant, let no one infer that it betokened 
the gloomy, ascetic, or '' prcsbyterian sour,'' or that it 
consisted in the contortions of a sanctimonious hypoc- 
risy. Eathor behold a countenance in a high degree 



214 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

expressive of subdued and humble piety, at times ^vith 
something of the pensive and heart-sad ; exhibiting on 
the whole, a picture of what would be called the '' beauty 
of holiness," as was seen in Moses when he descended 
from the mount, or in Stephen's angel-face, " when he 
looked steadfastly up to heaven." 

Infidelity often stood abashed at beholding the man 
around whom a halo of heavenly light so visibly shone. 
Instances of such an effect upon the minds of spectators 
might be adduced. It is said that on a certain journey he 
stopped at a public house, the landlord observing him as 
he entered the door, was so struck with his peculiarly sol- 
emn aspect that it was said to be instrumental in awaken- 
ing him to his sense of sinfulness and guilt. 

If there is discernable in his portraits, generally, 
something of a downcast look, even though it should 
be considered as a blemish, still the appearance is 
in accordance with the original. A lady who had sel- 
dom heard him preach, remarked to the writer that Dr. 
Payson, to her, showed marks of guilt in his countenance. 
Not that she in reality believed in any such thing, 
for she knew such a suspicion w^as groundless. Could she 
have heard his prayers, his humble confessions of sin and 
unworthiness, she, judging from her erroneous standard, 
might have pronounced still more unfavorably upon his 
character; not knowing the; cause of these humiliating 
acknowledgments. We can easily conceive that a 
sense of his delinquencies might give to his countenance 
an expression that would be liable to the misconstruction 
to which allusion has just been made. 

On all faces the spirit is out and commonly undis- 
guised. Should an angel assume an earthly form, how 
as he spoke, would the angel-spirit give to the exterior 



RECOLLECTIONS OP PAYSON. 215 

face the very glow of heaven ? A fixed habit of thought 
on any absorbing subject will impart a peculiar and 
permanent type to the countenance. Not only is it true, 
that '' as a man thinketh in his heart so is Ae," but that 
as a man thinketh in his heart so he lookeih. So in Dr. 
Payson ; the deep thoughtfulness of his eye, and the 
peculiar expression of his whole countenance, told 
unmistakably of a mind engrossed with the contempla- 
tion of high and holy objects. His general appearance 
being of this serious and subdued character, it was often 
judged by the superficial observer as savoring of 
misanthropy or affectation. He was not unsocial in 
spirit or forbidding in manners. If there were anything 
of that kind apparent to a stranger, it vanished upon the 
slightest acquaintance. In the street and in company he 
sometimes discovered signs of uncommon modesty or 
diffidence, but it was only the exquisite susceptibility of 
his delicate and retiring nature. 

His nervous system had suffered for a great length of 
time ; a circumstance which will account for the disturb- 
ance of that equilibrity of feeling which he confessed and 
lamented. H^ence he could not always be the cheerful, 
engaging companion, as he otherwise might have been. 
He was hereby made liable to the attacks of his spiritual 
foes, which at times were more than equal to all his 
strength. Reference was once made in his presence, to 
a brother in the ministrv, as a man of a remarkably 
affable and courteous spirit, of great urbanity of man- 
ners and always ready and assiduous to please those who 
called upon him. Although the remark was not intended 
as a reproof, yet he probably so construed it, as he 
immediately replied, " That I can never be." No other > 
apology was offered by him than that which was implied 



216 RECOLLECTIONS OE PAYSOIn. 

ill his confession, viz : his diseased nervous system. No 
other apology was needed. That he considered the 
prostration of his bodily health God's discipline to hum- 
ble him, and consequently a necessary appendage to his 
popularity is quite probable. The soarings of his natu- 
rally ambitious mind needed restraint, and a more effect- 
ual method perhaps could not have been adopted than an 
affliction of bodily disease. '' Lo, all these things work- 
eth God oftentimes with man, that He may withdraw 
man from his purpose, and hide pride from man." That 
Dr. Payson viewed the matter in this light, we think he 
once intimated to us. Nevertheless, out of these dread- 
ful mental and physical sufferings^ there grew those two 
sweet and lovely twin flowers of submission and humil- 
ity, which so adorned his spiritual life. Death crushed 
them, but they are still fragrant upon his grave. 

If this humiliating dispensation were necessary to 
show him the evil of " seeking great things for himself," 
yet in his humiliation he was the eagle still ; and 
although submissive under the chastening rod, yet as 
that noble bird, shorn of his pinions, or by some untow- 
ard accident, confined to the earth, essays to rise, that 
he may again look upon the sun with an eye unquenched, 
so his spirit in its intellectual and moral vigor, soared 
heavenward, untrammeled by infirmity or disease. 

With a constitution shattered by every adverse wind ; 
called to contend with the powers of darkness in no 
stinted measure ; with the multiplied cares of his family 
and church and people bearing heavily upon him, and 
with a keen sense of his responsibilities, il is not surpris- 
ing that he could find but little time or disposition to 
attend very particularly to the punctilios of etiquette, or 
even to the common courtesies of life. Yet we know not 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 117 

that he ever withheld the hand or heart of welcome from 
any one who deserved and sought it. '^ He was affable 
without an unbecoming familarity, courteous without 
officiousness. This is his likeness, and if it is not the 
picture of a gentleman after the Chesterfieidian stamp, 
it is one much more desirable. 

As his writings evince a mind pure and well-balanced, 
not starched with an afiected preciseness nor dressed up 
for expected company, (although never appearing in an 
unsightly dishabille and slip-shod,) so was he in his per- 
sonal appearance and behavior. 

He was ready at all times to consult your interests, 
and tenderly to regard your feelings. Sad instances of 
the reverse of such a course in some highly gifted and 
successfnl ministers have been witnessed. 

We subjoin an extract from one now a respectable and 
useful minister in this State, who was one of Dr. Pay- 
son's hearers : ** To my own mind the recollections of 
Dr. P. were of a very pleasing and satisfactory nature. 
Well do I remember how he used to meet me at his own 
house, when I called to see him as a poor sorrowing 
convicted sinner. How cordial, how kind, how tender 
and affectionate he always appeared, and what an inter- 
est he manifested in my case. Once, I recollect, I called 
in the afternoon, and he was quite sick, laid upon the 
sofa, up stairs. At his request I was conducted to his 
chamber, and when he saw who I was, he apologized 
very much for my being put to the trouble of coming up 
stairs to see him ; and said that if he had known it ivas I* 
he would have come down. This showed his feelings — his 

^Tlio gist of tills incident is found in the circumstance that the 
young inquirer, by the loss of a liinb in childhood, was under tlie 
ueccaaity of usin^ a crutch. 

10 



218 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

heart ; how ready to suffer himself, to sacrifice his own 
comfort, in order to help others. His whole aim was to 
do good ; to benefit the souls of his fellow men, and to 
honor and serve his blessed Master. And how well he 
accomplished this, we, who were directed and instructed 
by him, well know." H. I. 

A young man from the country, who had become a 
resident in Portland, and being earnestly desired by his 
pious mother to attend upon the ministry of Dr. Payson, 
hesitated not to comply with her request, yet from a 
misapprehension of the real character of his minister, 
(whom he supposed from his outward appearance to be 
morose and forbidding,) had dreaded an interview with 
him. When, however, an invitation had been given 
from the pulpit to the young men of his parish, who 
wished to engage in religious conversation, to meet him . 
at his house, this young man's fears were, in a measure, 
overcome, and he determined to avail himself of the 
opportunity. " I went," said he, '* and knocked at the 
door. Dr. Payson met me, and in the most affectionate 
manner possible, took me by the hand, and at once 
seemed to draw my heart into liisJ^ 

This incident furnishes evidence not only of the yearn- 
ings and unslumbering affection which dwelt in the heart 
of the pious mother for her son far away, exposed to the 
fascinating influences of the town ; but in this case were 
also exemplified the happy results of taking heed to a 
mother's wishes and instructions when removed from her 
immediate presence. How important are such parental 

*This young man departed this life at a comparatively early 
age, but not until he had afforded abundant evidence of useful 
and eminent piety. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 219 

admonitions, as they come like a telegraphic despatch 
from her heart to his, dotting upon the first opening leaf 
of the morning, as he awakes, the wishes and the pray- 
ers of maternal solicitude. 

Why that timidity and reluctance of the youthful 
stranger to consult his best friend ? Could such but look 
into the heart of the man of God, they would see it 
burning with an intense desire to '' draw their hearts into 
his." How many instances like the above, does the 
life of every faithful pastor furnish. How many will 
remember Dr. Payson with everlasting gratitude, as their 
spiritual guide ; and will bless God that they had the 
courage to knock at his study door to inquire what they 
must do to be saved. 

The following extract from a letter received by the 
compiler, will further illustrate the topic under consider- 
ation : " From my early childhood I was an attendant 
on Dr. Payson's ministry, and by him I received the or- 
dinance of baptism. But it was not until 1 was fifteen 
years of age, that I became personally aaquainted with 
him. At that period I was under serious impressions, 
and at Dr. P.'s request, visited him at his house. I went 
with some degree of timidity, which his pleasant look 
and manner soon removed. I felt as if talking with a 
father. Pie was then in feeble health, his last sickness 
having begun its fatal work ; but with earnestness, he 
entered into conversation, occasionally asking questions, 
some of which he answered for me, conjecturing or 
reading my feelings more correctly than I cotdd express 
them. 

Plis numerous anecdotes and illustrations tending to 
show me the way to Christ, deeply impressed me with 



220 RECOLLECTIO:S^S OF PAYSON. 

the truths he unfolded, and with his unrivalled power ot 
presenting them. That visit, by his request, was fre- 
quently repeated. On one occasion, as he lay on his 
sofa, wrapped in his faded plaid cloak, I hesitated to take 
a seat for fear of wearying him, and proposed to leave. 
"Oh, no," said he, "I am glad to see you, take a seat," 
at the same time, giving a pressure of the hand, and a 
look that assured me of his tender interest. He then 
conversed with unusual animation, though with great 
weariness. On expressing any fear that I should exhaust 
his patience, as well as hii strength, " Oh no," he replied 
"I have had vastly greater trials of my patience than this," 
and then stated that he had had frequent visits of persons 
for years, whose seriousness afterwards came to nothing. 
He then spoke of a fact which he had noticed in regard 
to some of these visits, and drew an illustration from it 
that sometimes, one would come to the very door-steps, 
and then go back, without coming in. Just so it is, at 
times, with the sinner in attempting to come to Christ. 
He takes a number of steps in the way towards Him and 
when almost to Him, turns and goes back to his former 
course of sin.". S. T. 

Dr. Payson's condescension and sympathy were very 
observable. He was humble minded. Men of high re- 
nown may venture with no hazard of their dignity or 
respect, upon any act of innocent condescention, aware 
that their character is established in the public mind. 
Dr. P., possessed a true magnanimity so that he could 
safely condescend to men of low degree and at no 
sacrifice of true dignity. " K great man," says an acute 
observer of human life, " can afford to lose ; a little in- 
significant fellow is afraid of being snuffed out "_^ 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 221 

Dr. Payson's soul was the receptacle of the purest be- 
nevolence. The hungry and the naked shared his com- 
passion, and *' he caused the widow's heart to sing for 
joy " in more instances, probably, than was generally 
known. Especially he sought to " minister to souls 
diseased." He loved to visit and converse and pray 
with those who were poor in this world's goods, and who 
were also '' poor in spirit." He spared no pains ; he 
considered no sacrifice too great, to accomplish such a 
purpose. Perhaps it was the last time he left his house, 
that he made a visit to a sick daughter of one of his 
flock, when she received the dying consolations of her 
dying pastor. Always, and at all times he was the min- 
ister, tender, sympathizing. At the fire-side, or by the 
way-side, or at the dying bed, his instructions were 
ready and abundant. Pie was prompt to drop into the 
ear, some word that might prove as a word in season, to 
all he met. Nor was his benevolence restricted to his 
own people. Any opening field which Providence pre- 
sented as one of usefulness, attracted his attention and 
secured his spiritual labors. Destitute moral regions in 
his more immediate neighborhood he visited, and would 
have done it to a greater extent than he did, had his people 
thought such a course compatible with his feeble health. 

''Unskillful he to fawn, or seek for power, 
By doctrines fashioned to the passing hour. 
Far other aims, his heart had learned to prize, 
More bent to raise the wretched, than to rise ; 
But in his duty, prompt at every call, 
He watched and wept, and prayed, and felt for all.'* 
It is worthy of remark, that his consent to have his 
occasional discourses published, was obtained upon the 
condition that the avails should be devoted to some be- 
nevolent object. 



222 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

His celebrated "Address on music," which was publish- 
ed in the ''Memoir," delivered in his own church at a 
concert of music in 1809, on which occasion the writer 
was present, was in behalf of an eminent composer and 
teacher of music,* then residing in town, and in some- 
what destitute circumstances. Seventy dollars were 
contributed on the occasion. 

He was invited to attend in council at the ordination of 
the first or second group of missionaries which the 
American Board sent to the heathen. His services on 
that occasion will long be remembered by those present. 

The Foreign Missionary cause had attracted his favor- 
able attention from the commencement. 

Writes a brother in the ministry, " I recollect hearing 
of the subscription which Dr. P. made to the auxiliary 
society in Portland, about the year 1812. While con- 
versing on the subject in the parlor where they met to 
organize, as to the amount they should subscribe annual- 
ly, he observed, that he could not satisfy, his consicence 
with less than twenty dollars. This seemed a sum much 
beyond the common standard of liberality, in those 
days. 

This was but a fair specimen of his benevolence which 
gave a tone to his preaching, and which tended to pro- 
duce a similar spirit, that has so distinguished his church 
and congregation.! 

* Mr. Wm. Cooper, the author of the celebrated Thanksgiving 
Anthem, and several other choice pieces of music. 

t At a certain time, when there were collections taken up in all 
the churches in town, for some benevolent object, (not specially 
evangelical,) it appeared on comparison, that Mr. Payson's Socie- 
ty had contributed a larger amount than either of the others. A 
gentleman belonging to one of the other Societies, and much the 
wealthiest, on hearing of the fact, inquired of one of Payson's 
people, why it was that their Society always contributed more 
than the others. "Why," replied he, '•^because ice are used to iu" 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Did he ever unbend — The fishing party— Remarkably conscien- 
tious — He was choice of his influence — His self-denial as it 
respects animal indulgence — A probable cause of shortening his 
life — Yet less of trial and conflict would have made him a very 
different man — Instance of his rea^ard lor a very lovely child. 

The opinion prevails extensively, that had Dr. Payson 
indulged more freely in the socialities of life ; had he been 
less abstemious, less solicitous respecting the success of 
his ministry, his health would have had fewer interrup- 
tions, and his life have been prolonged. A brother in the 
ministry, writing to the compiler on that subject, re- 
marks : ''I apprehend that Dr. P. had not right views of 
the limits of human responsibility, and tasked himself for 
the salvation of souls, beyond what was required of him. 
But most men err on the opposite side. Had he allovved 
himself more rest and recreation ; had he tasked him- 
self less in company, and floated more with the free cur- 
rent of conversation, he might have endured longer, and 
have done more good on the whole." Prof. Stowe re- 
lates a conversation he had with Dr. P. on his death-bed, 
upon this subject, when the latter acknowledged that he, 
himself, had misjudged in this matter. Our own opinion 
on the subject does not differ materially from what others 
have expressed ; yet it is questionable if Dr. P. had his 
life to live over again, with the same physical and mental 
temperament, whether he would have pursued a very dif- 



^ 224 RECOLLECTIONS OE PAYSON. 

ferent course. It was the man, to be ardent and keenly 
susceptible ; and with the same amount of piety, and love 
for souls ; an equal sense of responsibility to his Master, 
with a consideration of the brevity of life, and the impor- 
tance of crowding into it as much of usefulness as possi- 
ble ; and in viewing the truth of the remaik, that "That 
life is long, which answers life's great end ;" and pro- 
ceeding upon the same maxim, with which he commenc- 
ed his ministry, that "it is better to wear out than rust 
out" — he would probably have been the same man still. 

And when it is considered that a revival spirit w^as al- 
ways kept burning within him, we are to expect that his 
course would be very much like that of all devoted min- 
isters, in time of a revival, who are generally less under 
the guidance of judgment than of feeling, and who task 
their energies, often beyond their strength, like the hus- 
bandman, in the busy seasons of sowing and reaping, and 
hay-making, who puts forth all his strength, unconscious 
or unmindful of the expenditure ; and yet he did not al- 
low himself to trifle with his health, nor to violate any 
law of self-preservation.* 

*Dr. Payson was not only strictly temperate in all things, but he 
employed means for the preservation and restoration of health. In 
his journeys he had this object principally in view. He was in the 
habit of frequent sea-bathing, and he would continue this practice 
so late in the season, that he had to break the ice for that purpose. 
On ship-board, w^hen on his voyage to the South, he used a sea- 
bath, in doing which he was kindly assisted and accommodated by 
the steward of the ship. 

In the early part of his miuistry, as his health began to fail, and 
he supposed he v/as soon to be taken from his labors, he applied to 
the celebrated yet eccentric Dr. D , of Boston, for medical ad- 
vice. After the Docior had made inquiries respecting his patient, 
his habits, his whereabouts, i&c what, exclaimed he, are you that 
balding Fayson away down east ? The remark probably went off 
with a smile on both sides. Plis fame, it seems, began to get 
abroad, although in this case it was not of very enviable notoriety. 
But ministers must be contented with such compliments as they 
can get. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 225 

Nor are we prepared to say, though with due deference 
to the opinions of others, and of his own, even, that, con- 
stituted as he was, a greater aggregate of labor would 
have been performed by him, had he reduced his zeal, to 
the standard of ordinary ministers. There would doubt- 
less have been less wrestling of prayer, less effort, proba- 
bly, and less success, had his life been spread over forty 
years, instead of twenty. He seemed to say, "I have . 
a work to perform, and how am I straitened, till it be ac- 
complished." 

He usually conversed with great rapidity : he preach- 
ed and prayed with deep fervency of spirit. His mind 
and heart were full and rich in thought, and he hastened 
to unlade the treasure, and with feelings almost uncon- 
trollable. His course must speedily be finished. More- 
over, we say, that with less ardor and less of inward 
conflict, he would have been a very different sort of man 
and preacher. Still, now that the drama of his life is 
closed, our judgment is, that had he indulged in a more 
liberal relaxation from the severity of thought, and culti- 
vated a spirit of piety, not less pure, yet more cheerful in 
its character, he might have remained longer on earth 
for the ornament and illustration of piety, and a blessing 
to the churches. However we may speculate upon the 
wisdom of his course, or demur at its result, we must 
leave it with the inexplicable of the Divine counsels ; nor 
question, but that in this particuTar instance, some special 
design was to be accomplished, to us but imperfectly 
known. 

Nor should we slight the lesson it suggests, or attempt 

to imitate an example in all its parts, which by another 

might be an unwaifrantable or an unavailable experiment. 

"Everv man has his own proper gift from God." While 
10* 



226 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

it cannot be denied that he has left us an example in 
which there is much that is safe to follow, we shall do 
well there to abide, and in respect to this extraordinary 
man, be willing to overlook, in our tenderest sympathies, 
anything which may have been erroneous in his practice, 
or mournful in its results. 

The question returns. Did he ever unbend ? There 
was nothinof in his religion that forbid the innocent 2:rat- 
ification of our social nature. He coald relate an anec= 
dote, and do it well, and smile as well as others. He sel- 
dom indulged in the loud laugh, and never in boisterous 
merriment. Yet he could relax the fibres of his care- 
worn face, and sometimes relieve his burdened heart, and 
be the pleasant and amusing companion. There was no 
austerity in his manner. He occasionally mingled with 
his people in their recreations. 

The writer was one of a number of his church mem- 
bers, who, with their pastor, when we were all compara- 
tively young, joined in a fishing excursion to a place of 
frequent resort on the sea-shore of a neighboring town^ 
There we knew nj distinction. Minister and people were 
all upon a level. While some were employed in catch- 
ing the fish, others were busy in preparing them for the 
pan. Our good minister, we distinctly remember to have 
seen standing at a bench, with the fish before him, where 
the master of ceremonies had appointed him his service, 
which was^ to ^Hake off their skins ;" (a service, by the 
way, which we all knew he could perform more adroitly 
in the pulpit, than on the fishing ground.) Whether it 
was the choice of this ''fisher of men" to decline the priv- 
ilege of being a fisher of fish, we do not now recollect, 
but we distinctly see him, with knife in hand, standing in 



EECOLLEOTIONS OF PAYSON. 227 

his lot and diligent ; and we remember his remark on the 
occasion, "I do magnify mine office." He might occa- 
sionally, but we think rarely, have indulged in similar 
recreations, and as a retreat from the severer duties of 
his profession, conducted with his wonted' circumspection, 
they could not fail to be conducive to his health. 

The great dramatist has not hit Dr. P. in the striking 
description which follows, although others may have so 
judged : 

"He has a lean and hungry look : 
Seldom he smiles, and when he smiles, 
It is in such a sort, as though 
He scorn'd his spirit that could be moved 
To smile at any thing ' ' 

He committed not himself by any indiscretion, in 
speech or behavior, which might diminish your respect 
for him, when you should see him in the pulpit. So cir 
cumspect in all things was he, that you could associate in 
your reminiscences of him, only what was noble and 
worthy of a man of God. His intercourse in all his busi- 
ness transactions with his fellow-men, (v/hich, however, 
were very few^) was of the true Scripture pattern. 
Paul's description of a bishop, and the Psalmist's of a good 
man, ''who shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord, and 
who shall stand in the holy place ?" '* He that hath clean 
hands, and a pure heart," all could be applied to Dr. 
Payson, without an inward blush or misgiving feeling,' 
That "love of money," too often found even in ministers, 
was not his besetting sin. Even in early life it did not 
predominate, for at that period, said a familiar acquain- 
tance of his, "Payson cares nothing about money, but he 
is ambitious." Of no man could it be more truthfullv 
spoken, that he "kept himself unspotted from the world." 



228 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

He was remarkably free from every thing that could be 
called a meddling spirit ; or a ''busy-body in other men's 
matters." He never engaged in that idle gossip or offi- 
cious interference with the secrets of families and neigh- 
bors — a mere mail-carrier of scandal — which sometimes 
sinks the minister into a detestable tale-bearer and mis- 
chief-maker. He had not "itching ears," and his people 
knew it. He was seldom troubled with their complain- 
ings. His knowledge of human nature, and appreci- 
ation of true ministerial dignity and self-respect, were very 
apparent in his avoiding an evil which has, in so many 
instances, marred the usefulness of an otherwise respect- 
able ministry. He gave himself to none as the tool of a 
party, either in politics or anything else, whereby an op- 
portunity might be afforded to draw from him a remark 
which might fly as a spark to kindle a fire among his peo- 
ple, which in so many cases has proved disastrous to their 
best interests. "He kept himself pure." ''He set a 
watch at the door of his lips " 

Dr. Payson was very fond of such children as were at- 
tractive in their manners. He noticed and loved them^ 
In a family which Dr P. often visited, there resided a lit- 
tle girl, 6 or 7 years of age. She was of a remarkably 
amiable temper, intelligent, and in all respects a very 
beautiful child. There was that in her whole demeanor 
which had irresistibly attracted Dr. P's attention, and on 
his visits to the house, he often conversed with her. She 
was from Boston, and only resided for a few months in 
this family. Dr. Payson had been called there to solem- 
nize a marriage. After the ceremony had been perform 
ed, he called little Mary to him, and asked her "if she 
were ever at a wedding before." Receiving an answer 
in the negative, he asked her "if it seemed as she thought 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 229 

it would ?" ''No sir, said she, it was a great deal more 
solemn." Having liberty to visit Dr. Payson at his lodg- 
ings, she one day called upon him. After she returned, 
some one in the family inquired of her, "Well, Mary, 
what did Mr. Payson say to you ? " ''O, he said — he 
said, ' here comes my little Mary ; come and sit on my 
knee.' And he asked me, ' Mary, do you ever pray ? ' ' 
Probably she answered no. "Well, Mr. Payson said, al- 
though God is a great and glorious Being, yet He would 
hear 7ny little prayers, and he said, too, ' I shall die, ana 
I expect to go to heaven, and when I am there, I shall 
look round to see if little Mary is there ; and how I shall 
feel if I should not see her there/ " In less than a year 
after, little Mary left for her home. Sometime afterwards 
Dr. Payson was about to visit Boston, and calling upon 
the family where he had often seen nis young friend, he 
remarked that he wished to go to Boston, as much as any 
thing, to see little Mary P. This is one instance of the 
strength of his attachments, showing also that he had im- 
bibed the spirit of Him, v/ho said, " suffer little children 
to come unto me," &c. 

Little Mary P. is now a matronly lady, residing in one 
of our southern cities. Should her eye ever rest upon 
these pages, she may recognize herself as the original of 
this portrait, and she will suffer us to inquire whether "lit- 
tle Mary will, in very deed, meet the good Dr. Payson in 
heaven } " 






CHAPTER XVII. 

His Condescention and HumiUty, illustrated by several Anecdotes. 
His aversion to flattery — Remarkably free from ostentation, flip- 
pancy, or superciliousness-^Remarks on the danger arising from 
these traits, in ministers. Peaceable in spirit, yet able and pre- 
pared to meet an antagonist, if occasion demanded — Illustrated 
by an instance during a visit to Saratoga Springs. 

No loftiness of spirit, or arrogance of opinion, prevent- 
ed his giving attention to any reasonable animadversion 
upon his own performances. We will mention an in- 
stance in point. 

After his popular sermon before the Maine Bible Soci- 
ety was published, one of his people, having perused it, 
thought he discovered among its shining excellences, 
some ambiguity in one sentence v/hich left the sense 
somewhat obscure. This self-constituted critic, being at 
his house soon after, ventured (with v/hat might seem at 
the time, considering the great disparity between the par- 
ties, an act of almost unpardonable temerity,) to mention 
the discovery. Many men in like circumstances would 
have taken fire at such remarks offered by an inferior ; 
and by a tart reply, or contemptuous silence, would have 
suffered the remark to pass without further notice. But 
Dr. P. produced the sermon forthwith, with all the good na] 
ture imaginable, while his visitor directed his attention to 
the passage supposed to be faulty. It is not remembered 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 231 

v/hat remark he made at the time, by way of expla- 
nation ; or how guilty and ashamed the fault-finder 
felt for what might have seemed an impertinent in- 
termeddling ; but in another edition that was called for 
the suspicious sentence did not appear. Upon principles 
laid down by a popular writer, Dr. P. might have well 
borne with the critic. "A minister," remarks one, '^should 
consider how much more easily a weak man can read a 
wise man, than a wise man can read himself. When Apel- 
les took his stand behind his picture, (in order, probably, 
that he might hear the remarks which might be made upon 
it, for his own profit,) he was a icise man ; and he was a 
wise man^ too, when he altered the sJioe^ on the hint of the 
cohhler ; the colhler^ in his place ^ was to be heard." Dr 
P. might also have adopted the opinion of Bacon, the cel- 
ebrated British sculptor, who used to allow others, al- 
though of inferior judgment to himself, to remark upon 
his productions, in order, as he would say, to derive the 
benefit of di fresh eye. 

Thus the '* meekness of wisdom " sat gracefully upon 
him ; which was seen always naturally adorning his low- 
ly and unaspiring demeanor. He could '^ condescend 
to men of low estate." Yet '' with a large sum obtain- 
ed he this freedom," for pride of intellect and ambition, 
were strongly and deeply rooted in his nature, if we 
may judge from his own confessions. If there was the 
strong inward struggle, there was also the noble con- 
quest. He sought not flattery, he invited not the 
spark, for the tinder, he knew was yet in him. Suffer 
ing as he did, such intense mental agony, under the prev 
alence of remaining pride, it is no wonder that he dis 
countenanced every thing that would have a tendency t' . 



232 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

excite it. A. reprimand, in point, the writer well remenn- 
bers to have received frona hinn. 

hi the early part of his ministry, having become almost 
giddy with his eloquence, v^^e addressed him in a long let- 
ter, describing the feelings which his eloquence had 
awakened in our mind, using at the commencement of the 
letter, some extravagant encomiums upon his preaching. 
Some time after, we adverted to the letter, and apol- 
ogized for having therein, in our youthful inexperience, 
said so many fulsome things of him ; adding that we 
ought to have been ashamed of it. *' You had " said he, 
" o^ the first part of it." He remembered the letter ; so 
did the writer the reproof. 

That he possessed an ample fund of wit and humor, 
which he could employ successfully in exposing ignor- 
ance, and confounding the boastings of shallow minds ; 
or in disarming the enemy of the truth, is seen from in- 
cidents related in the " Memoir." His niind was like a 
constantly-revolving kaleidescope, presenting images of 
thought, in rapid and ever-changing combinations of ele- 
gance and beauty. 

And yet, how free from ostentation, and any effort to 
show off his talent, so common, and so offensive. How 
the beauties of his mind, rich and splendid as they were, 
were seen only through a veil of modesty, which nature 
and grace had woven ; yet seen, as is natural beauty, 
only to greater advantage through the transparent cover- 
ing. 

He was remarkably free from a flippant, supercilious 
or boastful air, in the pulpit or at any time, which a 
course of uncommon popularity has sometimes produced 
in ministers. There were no airs of an unseemly inde- 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 233 

pendence, or eccentricity, such as are sometimes seen m 
the pulpit ; as if the incumbent had said, "I am king 
here." No Jehu spirit which says, ^' Come, see my zeal 
for the Lord.'' No rough handling and turning over the 
leaves of the Bible, with such an air, as if ^' familiarity 
with it had bred contempt." He was a man of very ar- 
dent temperament, yet he was a sober-minded man. It 
was not his manner to stand in the pulpit to send up 
sky-rockets to amuse or to amaze a staring, gaping con- 
gregation. He had more consistent views of his high 
calling. Eccentric he was not, yet the elastic and elec- 
tric power, he possessed in a high degree. He made this 
power to be fdt by his audience. Like the main- 
spring of the watch, it imparted power and motion to the 
whole machinery. He was depressed often, but never 
unduly elated with success. Joyful he was at times, be- 
yond measure, when God smiled upon his soul, or gave 
him encouragement respecting the fruits of his labors, 
yet how far from arrogating anything to himself. — 
In his brightest moments, and at the " full sea" of his 
prosperity, we could almost hear him chiding himself, 
"* I charge my thoughts, be humble still ;" and, as 
far as we could see, his thoughts were obedient to the 
charge. He never seemed to take any unwarrantable 
liberties with the feelings of his people, or with the cus- 
toms of society ; as in his approaches to God, there was 
no unseemly familiarity ; nor in his intercourse with his 
fellows, was there anything assuming. His mind was 
well ballasted. Tbis was a merciful dispensation ; oth- 
erwise, as he acknowledged, he would have been ruined; 
*^ The proud waters would have gone over his soul ;" the 
gale had been too violent for his safety. Who has not 



234 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAY50X. 

trembled for some great reformer, or preacher, riding up- 
on the wave of popular applause ; for example, such men 
as Whitefield and Wesley, and others in modem times 
in similar circumstances. What minister, without trem- 
bling, ever reads of Herod, " eaten of worms and giving 
up the gliost, because he gave not God the glory ? " or 
of Hezekiah, humbled of God, because in the naughtiness 
of his pride he cherished feelings of self-complacency in 
making parade of his wealth to the princes of Babylon ? 
Who has not more than suspected this hidden abomina- 
tion to be the cause of God's withholding his Spirit from 
churches, or suspendmg it in revivals, aud of his blowing 
upon the offerings of ministers and churches, and thus 
blasting their labors. 

"For pride, that busy sin, 
Spoils all that I perform ; 

Curs'd pride, which creeps'secnrely in. 
And swells a goiltj worm/' 
We see, at such times, that the hand of God is needful 
to press hard upon us to keep down this rebel emotion. 
God " hides pride from man," sometimes by hiding him 
in the grave ; at other times by the infliction of some se- 
vere discipline. God " left Hezekiah that he might try 
him, and that he might know what was in his heart." 
A discipline, painful as it is, is often necessary, and always 
salutarj-. One of the " evils to come,"'from which "some 
are taken away" by death, may be the disastrous conse- 
quences which are sometimes attendant upon popular ap- 
plause, and which have caused the shipwreck of the soul, 
or at least have occasioned his sun to set in a cloud. A 
melancholy instance, in a popular minister, of frailty 
and sin, which came to his knowledge, probably suggested 
the text from Hosea xiii : L from which we heard him 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 235 

preach. ''When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted 
himself in Israel, but when he offended in Baal, he died." 
Who knows but that Bunyan, ever vile in his own eyes, 
had he lived to hear the universal trumpet-blast that 
now sounds his fame, might have been overwhelmed 
and ruined ? Charitable as Dr. Payson was towards 
young converts, in judging of the genuineness of their 
christian hope, yet in his preaching and conversation, he 
would closely sift and try them, and would have them 
narrowly examine their hopes and hearts. > He par- 
ticularly recommended President Edwards' " Treatise on 
the Affections," as an important " aid," for this purpose ; 
a book which is sure to destroy the hope of the hypocrite, 
and to shake that of the true convert ; yet the latter will 
come forth from the fiery ordeal, with an increased con- 
fidence that all is well. In the words of another, " When 
I have doubts, I light my lamp, take the key, go down 
cellar, examine the arches on which my building rests ; 
if 1 find all right, I go back, blow out my light, and hang 
up the key-" 

He was particular as to the books his people read. — 
The writer mentioned to Dr. Payson that he had been 
reading " Law's Serious Call to a Devout and Holy 
Life," a book, by the way, of which, I think Dr. Johnson 
speaks very highly. It is a sort of half-quakcr book, yet 
contains very good maxims. *' Take care," said Dr. P., 
" that it does not make an Arminian of you." Yet, as a 
general thing, he approved of the book. 

He highly approved of devotional works, such as 
Thomas a Kempis' Imitation of Christ. Madame Gui- 
on's treatise, I think he did not object to. He, of course, 
had no sympathy with Roman Catholics, yet he possessed 



236 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

a commendable liberality and candor, in approving what- 
ever of genuine piety he found in any men or writ- 
ings. Whatever tended to inflame or strengthen the 
pious affections, he more highly appreciated, thanbooks 
on speculative or mere doctrinal subjects. 

He has had the reputation of being a great " novel 
reader." We do not undertake to decide upon this ques- 
tion. That he devoured '* romance and fiction," and eve- 
ry species of literature, in any quantity, during his youth- 
time, is well known. To what extent he controlled or re- 
pressed that craving for works of the imagination, in his 
sedate and more sober manhood, or after he became a 
minister ; or what were his view^s with respect to this 
practice, we have not sufficient means to state with cer- 
tainty. 

If he allowed himself in the practice at all, it was to 
him only a mere pastime, a relaxation from severer 
studies and pursuits, which in his case might be product- 
ive of no deleterious results. We think he once re- 
marked, speaking on this subject, to this effect, '' that a 
person might gratify his mental appetite in whatever 
reading, his own observation had taught him, was not 
detrimental to spiritual-mindedness." That he was op- 
posed to literature of a demoralizing character, we can- 
not doubt, nnd that his outspoken and hearty condemna- 
tion would fall upon the trashy productions of most 
modern novelists, were equally safe to remark. What- 
ever in books or amusements generally, that did not in 
some way strengthen and adorn the mind, and increase its 
capacity of usefulness, and thus promote either directly or 
indirectly the good of our fellow men, and God's glory, 
he would not encourage. 

As respects ministers, old or young, they viust keep 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 237 

their capital good. They must read, and the greater 
mount and variety of knowledge they obtain, other things 
being equal, the more probability of their being useful 
and successful ministers, and of securing the attendance 
and attention of their people. Ministers need every help 
to adorn and elucidate their discourses, in order to meet 
respectfully^the emergencies of the times. Some have 
more of a ministerial tact tlian others, and make a little 
knowledge go a good way in a sermon, eking it out 
as they do their scanty salaries. Some depend more upon 
their original resources ; and some have to trade all their 
life-time upon commission, or a borrowed capital ; 
always borrowing, borrowing, and die bankrupts at last. 



" The glory of my glory still shall be, 
To give all glory and myself to Thee." 

The crowning grace in Dr. Payson's character was his 
humility. This was a '^ diadem of beauty," and as a 
chain of gold round about his neck, which set off to 
great advantage his other rare qualities. That he could 
have borne his popularity and success so well, preserv- 
ing as he did, so humble and unostentatious a demeanor 
at all times and under all circumstances, is proof of the 
strength and genuineness of his piety. 

Others have made more noise and flourish, and kept 
the world more astir by their zeal and eloquence, who 

have, nevertheless, exhibited sad proof of a vain-glorious 
spirit. 

" For I am meek and lowly in heart !" What 
words were these, proceeding from the lips of the eternal 
Son of God ! Which, of all the attributes that constitute 
his perfect character, appears so lovely, or which so en- 
dears Him to his followers, or excites so warm an admir- 



I 



238 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

ation of his inestimable worth ? Take av/ay this lovely 
feature of lowliness and condescension from the charac- 
ter of the " Friend of sinners," and let only his unveiled 
power and majesty be seen, and what a different Savior 
do we behold ! Heaven's glorions King, how humble 
when clothed in flesh. And in Dr. Payson's case, or in 
any other, all were a ruin ; piety in ruins, a soul in ruins, 
and blasted all our hopes ; and Dr. Payson had made no 
other end than Herod made, had not God kept him, and 
bruised him, and shorn him at times of his wonted 
strength. How patiently he sat while under the disci- 
plinary process, and how comely did he appear, clothed 
with the heaven-wrought robe. How much of the '* same 
mind was in him which was also in Christ Jesus." 

We say of Dr. Payson that although *' his spear was 
like a weaver's beam," yet he v/as akin in no degree, to 
the boastful Goliahs, who bluster in the world. He was 
calm and peaceable in spirit ; in no way desirous of man- 
ifesting a menacing attitude, or displaying a belligerent 
spirit. He possessed great resources, upon which he could 
fall back in case of emergency. He was not cowardly 
v/hen duty called him forth in defence of truth. He 
would meet the enemy in honorable contest. He was 
still about it: as Dr. Todd remarks of one, "He takes his 
aim ; there is but little noise ; but go and you will find the 
game dead upon the spot." 

We have sometimes loved to compare Dr. Payson to a 
first-rate sh:p-of-the-line, as she floats upon the deep, with 
every facility on board to demolish a fortification ; to sink 
or wreck the unfortunate enemy that shall be within reach 
of her metal, or to grapple with the enemy " yard arm 
and yard arm " — although with no gun seen, every port- 
hole closed, and thereby concealing her mighty enginery : 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON, 239 

no flag streams in defiance ; no peal of battle thunder 
sound;^ to action ; and yet how amply prepared,should the 
emergency arrive ; all her resources are in readiness. — 
The gallant commander, self-possessed, and conscious of 
his superior prowess, surveys his antagonist without mis- 
giving, and unappalled. 

At all times, strong in a good conscience, unflinching 
where duty prompted, he had the moral courage to do 
what his Bible dictated. This trait of character is illus- 
trated by the following incident : 

''A few years before his death, he visited at their most 
crowded season, the Springs of Saratoga. He sojourned 
at the principal hotel, where he was surrounded by fash- 
ionable and distinguished visitors. From day to day he 
mingled in general intercourse, and took his full share in 
conversations on philosophical, literary and general top- 
ics, to the delight of every one. At length he proposed 
that on a coming day, which he named, the hour after 
dinner should be devoted to religious conversation. 
Some of his most intimate friends were fearful lest the 
talent by which he was surrounded, which, alas, was la- 
mentably stained with infldelity, should prover more than 
equal to his pious zeal, or that he might regret that he 
made the proposal. At length the hour arrived, and after 
the cloth was removed, he found himself surrounded by a 
very large assembly. He sat for some time in deep and 
solemn silence, and then made some remarks, simply to 
elicit observations and inquiries in return. A leading- 
statesman rose, determined to try the Doctor's strength to 
the utmost, and made an attack upon Christianity, with 
great energy and boldness. Interest was excited to its 
greatest intensity, as the worthy minister rose to reply. 



240 ' RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

With candor, clearness, and power, he re-stated the 
strongest arguments, which his opponents had brought 
forward, and then with simplicity and eloquence, which 
absolutely electrified his audience, lie demolished every 
objection they had urged, and won the unbounded admi- 
ration of all who heard him ; every one of whom declar- 
ed that they had never before listened to such strains of 
wisdom, benevolence and piety." But we are aware that 
he went not forth to the encounter " at his own charges." 

It is easy to conceive that his high regard for the truth, 
a conviction of his responsibleness to his Master as a de 
fender of the truth ; the favorable opportunity presented, 
which might not again occur, to assail the brazen front of 
infidelity, which had set itself in array against him ; com- 
posing an assemblage of the learning and talent, and 
wealth and influence of the place, would awaken within 
him a sense of his duty to improve an occasion thus prov- 
identially afforded him. And it is gratifying to record that 
the standard he had unfurled, was permitted to wave tri- 
umphantly over the defeat of his opposers ; that he com- 
pletely demolished their arguments ; that the spectators 
beheld the image they had set up, like Nebuchadnezzar^s 
weak and vulnerable at the very spot where it needed 
strength ; "broken to pieces, and become like the chaff of 
the summer threshing-floor." 

With all his valor and straight-forwardness, he had not 
the rigidity of an iron self-will. He was no bigol, how- 
ever his enemies may have so accused him. He could 
" become all things to all men " in the true Scriptural 
sense. Like an elastic rod, he might be bent up double, 
when condescention and humility demanded it, nor w^ere 
his self-respect and honor injured by yielding : — the ben^ 
rod became straight again. His noble mind could freely 



EECOLLEGTIOXS OF PAYSON. 241 

condescend, within any reasonable limit, to meet the opin- 
ions or even the whima and prejudices of those he judged 
sincere, yet it scorned an abject servility to any men or 
measures. Me had much of that " charity that beareth 
long and is kind." " Come again and again," was his 
language to inquirers, and his patience with their dullness 
or their doubts or ignorance, seemed never to be ex- 
hausted. 

11 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

It is not knovrn that he possessed any musical talent. He was not 
a fastidious or hypercritical hearer — His kind feelings towards 
young ministers — An illustration — His appreciation of talent — 
Several anecdotes furnished by a minister oncfe a member of his 
church — his impatience at mental dulness — Our feelings of ven- 
eration while in his presence — Authors he recommended. 
It is not known that he possessed any musical talent, 
or at least, that he frequently attempted to cultivate it. 
We are not aware that he was ever heard to utter a 
single note in the performance of social or public praise ; 
from what cause, it is not certainly known. It may have 
been from a consciousness of his deficiency in musical 
skill, or from diffidence. A voice like his, deep-toned, 
and of so much compass and melody, we should have 
pronounced at once, susceptible of most successful musi- 
cal cultivation. 

The writer remembers being at his house, and alone 
with him, when he made the suggestion that we should 
try our voices together by way of singing a tune. We 
did but very imperfectly succeed. It was almost an en- 
tile failure. He remarked that he was afraid of the 
sound of his own voice. He never repeated a proposal 
of the sort to the wTiter, and whether, in fact, the fright 
and the defeat should be attributed more to one than to 
the other, it were quite unimportant to decide. 



EECOLLECTIONS OE PATSON. 243 

He was not fastidious or hypercritical, when listening 
to the sermons of others, and yet we believe that no man 
of ordinary abilities, could preach before him, and not 
sensibly feel his presence. The writer was occasionally 
called to preach in his pulpit, with the pastor close at his 
elbow. Some will remember that the original pulpit of 
that house was small, and nearly circular, somewhat re- 
sembling a tub, and but just large enough to contain two 
persons. For our encouragement, however, we felt that 
w^e had one near to keep us in countenance, who we 
were well assured would be ready to endorse the truths 
which we advanced ; and standing there by the Doctor's 
special invitation, and under his wing, "no man's heart 
need to fail him." He made all reasonable allowance 
for young preachers, and sympathized with them in their 
first attempts at preaching. One of his students in divin- 
ity, immediately after being licensed in 1817, was invit- 
ed to supply the pulpit of Dr. Payson for five or six Sab- 
baths, while he was absent for his health. On his return, 
he met his young pupil who had supplied for him, and 
aware of his fearful apprehensions of appearing for the 
first time in the pulpit, and before a Portland audience, 
said very pleasantly, " Well, it wasn't such a terrible thino- 
to preach as you thought for, after all, was it ?" The same 
student afterwards settled in the ministry, and being in 
town on a certain Sabbath, Dr. P. addressed a note to 
him, during the intermission, requesting him to preach 
for him in the afternoon ; and knowing his willingness to 
excuse himself from preaching before him, he appended 
to the note, '• You must not say no." The invitation and 
the injunction, speaks for itself. They show the friend- 
liness of his motive and of his heart. He assumed no 



214 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

authority over his pupils : his criticisms and remarks 
were just and wise, yet made in the spirit of great ten- 
derness. 

Turn your eyes towards him as he sat in the pulpit, 
with some young man who was officiating, and you would 
see him with his head bowed down, his face more than 
half concealed under a fold of his cloak, (if it were a time 
for cloaks,) apparently listening with the docility of a 
child ; while we felt that, as preachers, we were not wor- 
thy to be ''set \vith the dogs of his flock." Although his 
clear and intuitive sense of excellence, both in literature 
and theology, qualified him to pronounce with the justest 
criticism up£>n any performance ; yet he would seem to 
divest himself of his critical acumen for a season, that 
he might receive edification from the truth presented, 
however homely or unattractive the garb in which it ap- 
peared. 

He seldom gave you his opinion, if solicited, respect- 
ing ministers, or their public performances. " You must 
not," said he, once to the writer, who had requested his 
remarks about a certain preacher, '' You must not ask the 
opinions of ministers respecting each other." 

Dr. Payson, as we have said, had a kind and sympa- 
thizing spirit. Fie took a deep interest in the welfare of 
his flock, and especially in such as had prepared for the 
ministry under his instructions. The following incident 
may serve to illustrate still further this trait in his char- 
acter. 

A young man, a member of his church, and his stu- 
dent in theology, after he had been settled in the minis- 
try a year or more, happening to be in Portland, was in- 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 245 

vited to preach the regular Thursday evening lecture.* 
On the evening referred to, there was present, the Hoii. 

M. C — , a very wealthy citizen, who belonged to 

another religious Society in town, who occasionally drop- 
ped in of a Thursday evening, esteeming it a privilege to 
hear a preacher of Dr. Payson's eminence, but who, on 
this occasion, must have been sadly disappointed in not 
hearing the minister he expected. A deceased son of 
this gentleman, of very precious memory, then, and still, 
had befriended this young minister to whom the father 
had been listening, and but for whose pecuniary aid and 
sympathy, it is doubtful whether he would have entered 
the ministry. t 

^These weeTtly lectures, he invariably sustained, and they were 
rendered specially useful because of the opportunity of attending, 
thereby afforded to such as did not belong to his parish. These 
lectures were highly accounted of by Dr. Payson himself ; so 
much so, that when in health, and civility required him to invite a 
brother minister, who called upon him on the day of the meeting 
to officiate in his stead, he said it was like having his supper stolen 
from him. To preach the gospel, was considered by him as the 
greatest of luxuries. He acknowledged that no affliction seemed 
harder to bear, than to be laid aside from his labors. 

ITheological seminaries had no existence in this country, when 
Dr. Payson commenced preparations for the ministry. Somethino- 
less than a year had he devoted to his own immediate preparation 
for his work, which was spent with his father at Rindge, N. H. 
We think he favored tlie method of private theological education. 
With a mind of the first order, and having enjoyed the advantages 
of a finished college education, and the benefits of the house- 
hold instructions of a pious father and mother, and with a heart 
deeply imbued with the spirit of piety, he could not but be 
eminently qualified for the work of an evangelist, although he had 
not availed himself of the more thorough discipline of any Theo- 
logical school. During the early part of his ministry, he superin- 
tended, wholly or in part, the theological studies of several young 
men, ])r('paratory for the sacred ollice. Several of them are liviiio-, 
and active in the ministry. Tiieir names are as follows: *B. F. 
Farnsworth; Josiah G. Merrill; Nathan Douglas ; John ILlngra- 
ham; Lsaac Weston; *Charles Freeman ; *SamuelJohnson ; John 
A. Douglas, and Phillips Payson, (his brother.) 

* Deceased. 



246 RECOLLECTIOXS OF PAYSON. 

At the close of the services, Dr, Payson and the young 
minister walked down the aisle together, and meeting 
with the Hon. gentleman referred to, just coming out 
of the pew, he took pains to introduce his pupil as a 
beneficiary of his deceased son, and stated to him the 
fjxcts in the case, concluding with the remark, You see, 
sir, that your son, " being dead, yet speaketh." The 
venerable father seemed much affected by the remark. 
The scene was suited to show the happy results of af- 
fording aid to indigent students in a course of prepara- 
tion for the ministry, as well as to awaken in the mind 
of the beneficiary a deeper sense of his obligation to his 
patron, and to place in a very amiable light the character 
of Dr. Payson. This and other incidents in his life 
which appear in this work, and which may seem trivial, 
happily illustrate his true benevolence of character. 

It w^as not a common practice with him to preach his 
sermons a second time to his own people ; although we 
perceive in the " Memoir" that circumstances were once 
such, that he was compelled to do so for a season. He 
did not consider the practice reprehensible, in himself 
or others. The effect, however, which was produced 
upon his own mind by a frequent repetition of his dis- 
courses may be learned from the following incident : 

While on his journey through Essex Co., Mass., preach- 
ing in behalf of the Education Society, he stopped in 
Topsfield, at the house of Doctor C. Doct. C. inquired 
of him relative to the effect which a frequent repetition 
of his sermons produced upon his own mind, he answered, 
"It is like the operation of an intellectual emetic." 

Writes the brother more than once referred to, '^Dr. 
Payson seemed to be too impatient of common dullness. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 247 

I called upon him one evening when he was sitting at his 
fireside with a man of rather superior solid talents, but 
without much vivacity. He seemed uninterested, and his 
visitor looked absolutely dejected, but appeared to bright- 
en up at the coming in of one who could sympathize a 
iittle more with him than Dr. Payson did. I once met 
Dr, P. riding in a chaise in Portland v/ith an aged gentle- 
man, whose presence seemed to give an unusual glow of 
animation and pleasure to Dr. P.'s countenance. Who, 
thought I, can this be, who interests Dr. P. so much ? 1 
learned afterwards that it was Roy. Dr. Spring, of New- 
buryport. 

Dr. Payson was invited to attend an ordaining council 
at Boston. He took a lively interset in attending, but 
the main interest seemed to be, that he should there 
meet the' Eev. Lyman Beecher. We see nothing repre- 
hensible in this, it is no honor to visit objects of curiosity. 
It was difticult for men or books ^to please him, as the 
men or books must be in th^ finest ^style of genius, 
spirit and originality ; or rather they must be of a pecu- 
liar spirit. I spoke to him once in commendation of 
" Chalmer's Astronomical Discourses," and he answered 
with rather faint pride, but '* Plenry Martin's Memoir," 
he warmly commended." C. F, 

It is true that our pastor had to put up with much ig- 
norance and dullness in those who visited him ; yet, to 
the sincere inquirer, though dull and illiterate, he was 
very forbearing. It was a remark of his, " whoev- 
er wishes to see me, is the person I wish to see." He 
might not always be disposed, owinfj to peculiar circum- 
stances, to converse with his wonted interest ; especially 
might it have a deadening effect upon him, to find in his 



248 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

visitor one who had little or nothing to say on the subject 
of religion. And as we felt our conscious inferiority to 
him, our lips would be often shut, and then the conver- 
sation would necessarily flag, and it is no wonder that the 
interview should become dull and tedious. 

His appreciation of the value of time v/as such, that he 
could not but be uneasy, when he saw the hour was 
spending unprofitably. Yet his presence was not such 
as to forbid confidence, although it was difficult to unbend 
before him. You could not well take liberties with him. 
His predilections for men of superior piety and tal- 
ents, as remarked by our brother last quoted, are easily 
accounted for on the principle that ^'like rejoices in like." 
He had to put up with the inexperience and ignor- 
ance of new converts, as all ministers have to do, but he 
would do it gracefully and pleasantly. 

The writer remembers that soon after he had indulged 
a trembling christian hope, he was walking with Dr. P. 
in the street, and wishing to say something to him con- 
cerning his newly cherished feeling, remiarked to his pas- 
tor that he was afraid he had not repented sufficiently of 
his sins. It may easily be conjectured how a man of Dr. 
P.'s knowledge and experience in religious matters must 
have felt, at such a simple and artless expression of our 
fears, as he replied with a good-natured smile, *' I guess 
you have not,'' as if he had said, " tt'Ao has ever suffi- 
ciently repented ?'' 



CHAPTER XIX. 

His views of church discipline— Remarks on the same subject. 

Dr. Payson's views on this subject led him to adopt no 
arbitrary or rigorous measure. He favored a prompt 
decision, coupled with sympathy for the eiiender. 
Although he was a most commendable pattern himself, 
in all things '' pertaining to life and godliness," and God 
had kept him from falling, yet he well understood the 
clause in his church covenant, which we have often so 
feelingly heard him read, '' considering ourselves, lest 
we also be tempted." With a mind harassed and lacer- 
ated as his had been, and still was, and under a deep 
sense of remaining depravity in the christain's heart, he 
was prepared to look with a lenient eye upon the back- 
slider, especially if there appeared signs of penitence. 
" He best can bind who has been bruised oft." 

In cases of discipline, where the person deserves the 
just frown of the church, he recommended promptness 
and decision. He would connive at no delinquency ; he 
would have no sin covered up, which the honor of Christ, 
and the purity and propriety of the church required to be 
made public. Yet he has remarked that a christian must 
be exceedingly ignorant of his own heart, his frailty and 
dependence who should be unduly severe in his feelings, 
towards a fallen disciple. 
11* 



250 llECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOiS^ 

He recommended, not an implacable, but a charitable 
and forgiving temper towards the delinquent. "Ye that 
are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meek- 
ness." " It is the glory of a man to pass over a trans- 
gression ;" and is it not the duty of the church, with the 
utmost readiness to embrace an offending member, who 
would return, with the true spirit of confession and 
penitence. 

We remember reading, many years ago, a narrative of 
a ship's company being compelled to leave their sinking 
ship, and to betake themselves to the long-boat. In this 
exposed situation, far off upon the wide ocean, they 
were reduced to a very short allowance. In order to 
make their scanty provisions hold out, they were com- 
pelled, after drawing lots, to cast one of their unfortu- 
nate crew overboard. He submitted to his fate as w^ell 
as he could, yet life v/as dear to him, and he kept near 
to the boat. He grasped the gunwale and held on. 
With a single blow of the sword from the officer, his arm 
was severed from his body. He dropped, but recovered 
his hold with the other hand : another stroke of the 
sword, he fell armless into the ocean, but he kept 
by the boat, holding up his two bleeding stumps. A 
spectacle so piteous they could not behold unmoved ; 
they took him into the boat. 

The illustration is imperfect, for '' parables do not 
always go upon all-fours,'* yet a principle is involved in 
this narrative, that suits our present purpose. This man 
clung to the boat. So we think that when, by a majority 
of the brethren of a church, one has been justly consid- 
ered worthy of censure, and cut off from the special 
privileges of God's covenanted people, it is a good sign 
to see him clinging to the church ; and even if he feels 



ilECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON» ' 251 

that he has been hardly dealt with, yet to have such a 
regard for the church, as an institution of God, as 
to say, ''With all thy faults I love thee still." Her, 
I will still respect and honor. It is something of the 
spirit that says, '' Though He slay nae yet will I 
trust in Him." And if conscious that the rod of disci- 
pline has fallen righteously, then how in accordance 
with right feelings is it, to justify the disciplinary acts ; 
to acknowledge guilt, and return with penitence. He 
then takes the part of the church which acts for God, 
against himself; and the '' two hleeding stiimps^'^'' emblem- 
atical of a bleeding and broken hearty have a voice of 
contrition and entreaty, to which no church of Christ 
should turn a deaf ear. They will arise, and take him 
again to their bosom. 

And yet a spirit entirely opposite to that which we 
have recommended, is sometimes seen manifested by 
persons whom the church has seen proper to remove 
from its fellowship. 

There is the raven professor, let loose from the church, 
who finds his home, and a congenial element, upon the 
troubled waters of a world, under its Creator's curse ; 
while the peaceful, dove-like disciple, returns with the 
olive-leaf in her mouth ; with a spirit, chastened and sub- 
dued, wishing to cleave closer than ever to the church, 
clinging with a firmer, and more affectionate grasp, to 
the very arm that has inflicted the just and salutary blow, 
repeating, never more sincerely, " Thy people shall be 
my people, and thy God my God." ''My soul shall 
pray for Zion still." 

Although we deem it possible, for a church, from mis- 
information and prejudice, to err in judgment and in 
practice, and to commit an unjustifiable act of dismem- 



252 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

berment ; yet we believe cases are very rare, where a 
church is censurable for an act of discipline, that has 
been the result of patient, faithful, and prayerful inves- 
tigation. 

We remember it w^as Dr. Payson's opinion, that in 
cases of public offence in a member, it was not neces- 
sary for the church to take the steps enjoined in Matthew, 
xviiT. which Dr. P. thought were intended only for pri- 
vate offences, but to proceed at once, on hearing of the 
offence, to cite the delinquent member before the church, 
to answer to the report, now already public, agreeably to 
the Cambridge Platform of Church Discipline. 



CHAPTEE XX. 

His concentration of mind, and unity of purpose — Carefulness 
to avoid whatever might hinder his usefulness — Seldom seen in 
the busy crowd — Great utility of his pastoral visits — The happy 
disappointmcL^. 

There are many elements of native character, both of 
genius and disposition, as well as of physical temperament5 
which those who enter the ministry must and will bring 
with them. These peculiarities in almost endless varie- 
ty, will be seen more or less manifested ; diffusing their 
influence and giving a complexion to the whole ministe- 
rial life — sometimes for good and sometimes for evil.— 
Grace does not entirely transform all our habits, natural 
tastes, or predilections. Luther will be Luther, and 
Berridge will be Berridge, and Rowland Hill will be 
himself, and so will John Wesley. 

Where it is found, however, that the peculiarities of 
ministers tend to diminish their usefulness, these peculi- 
arities should be brought strictly under the restraint of 
religious principle ; it may be that they should be over- 
come or abandoned altogether, according to the require- 
ment of Christ, that " if thy right eye offend thee pluck 
it out."^- 

"An eminent clergyman in England, being an excellent per- 
former on the violin, and finding that his passion for music inter- 
fered with his oificial duties, cut the strings of his vioUn at once. 
The same man, being also a connoiscur in paintings, on visiting 



254 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

It is admitted that circumstances do sometimes allow and 
even require a minister to engage in pursuits foreign to 
his sacred profession, and from which he would gladly 
be relieved ; yet to sink the minister into the astronomer 
or geographer or school-m.aster, (if such a course can 
well be avoided,) useful and respectable as are these pro- 
fessions ; or to take much interest in political or com- 
mercial concerns, must lead to a bewilderment or dis- 
sipation of mind, and leaves him only half minister and 
half something else ; a mixed up character of lecturer, 
politician, financier, or whatever, and thus unquestionably 
injuring his usefulness as a minister. Nor is this evil con- 
fined to the minister alone, but is felt in its withering and 
scathing influence through the entire church and parish. 
With respect to Dr. P., how truly it can be said, that 
he avoided everything that had a tendency to divert his 
attention from his main pursuitt. 

A very great student he was, of the works of God and 
man, for such studies could contribute to his usefulness 
as a minister of Christ. This end secured, it sufficed. 
Whatever may have been his cherished and permanent 
natural tastes and predilections, if they obstructed his 
course of usefulness, he relinquished them all for the at- 
tainment of an infinitely greater good. None could say 
more sincerely, 

*' And if I might make some reserve, 

And duty did not call ; 
I love my God with zeal so great, 

That I should give Him all." 



a sick chamber, became so much interested in a picture that hung 
in the room, that he found his attention was diverted from the great 
object of his visit. He sought to modify and subdue a taste that 
he perceived to be so injurious to his usefulness — an example of 
self-denial and fidelity to his Master, worthy of imitation. 



EECOLLECTiONS OF PAYSOI^. 2do 

H:s resources, natural or acquired, ample and rich as 
they were, were all concentrated upon one single point- 
one grand object. You see this principle adopted in the 
following, as was seen in a thousand other instances. 
Conversing with one of his church-members on adopting 
means of doing good, said he : "Make it a rule to pray 
for a blessing upon every one you meet.*" How suggest- 
ive the idea ; and the practice followed as it probably was, 
by himself, it shows what a well-spring of benevolence 
was in his heart, and how nearly he practiced the Apos- 
tle's injunction, to '' pray without ceasing." 

Dr. Payson's presence anywhere, could not fail to be 
impressive. There w^as a character in it, and in all that he 
said and did ; his remarks' were so peculiar, striking, orig- 
inal, and so full of wisdom and piety, having for their 
aim the promotion of the best interest of the company in 
which he mingled, that the interview could never be for- 
gotten. Wherever he went, he left his peculiar mark, as 
the seal leaves its impression upon the wax, not easily 
effaced. He was the christian minister ; the holy man 
of God, with a heart overflowing with benevolence 
and zeal for his Master, whether he mingled with the 
promiscuous crowd, or visited in the retired family. 

We have abundant proof of this disposition in Dr. 
Payson from the relation which is given of his visits in 
the '' Memoir," as well as what may be found in the pres- 
ent volume. The " ruling passion" was out, and apparent 
to all observers. He had a subject ready for every oc 
casion, and a remark for every individual. He was time- 
ly, seasonable, appropriate, and effective, 'Mike apples of 
gold in pictures of silver." His visits were never idle 
or unproductive of good. 



256 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

The E,ev. Mr. S., now in advanced life, and residing 
in R., Mass., remarked to the writer, that although he 
had never known Dr. Payson, except by report, yet he 
remembered an incident respecting him, which took 
pkace in the town of M. This was probably during the 
journey, when Dr. Payson v/as engaged in preaching in 
behalf of the Education Society. 

He was employed on week days in presenting his 
cause to different congregations, and made his arrange- 
ments to be at some particular place on the sabbath, 
as might best suit his convenience. 

He had finished his v/eekly tour, and on a Saturday 
evening, he drew near to the village just referred to, 
where he expected to occupy the pulpit on the sabbath. 
No mention was made of there being any other minister 
present at the time. 

In tkose days. Dr. Payson performed his journeys usu- 
ally on horseback. Fatigued and almost sick, he stopped 
at a house to which he was directed for entertainment 
over the sabbath. It seems that the good lady of the 
house was not very favorably impressed with the appear* 
ance of her guest, who had " turned in,'' wan and 
weary, probably indisposed for much conversation, yet 
announcing himself as the expected preacher for the mor- 
row. She was ruminating in her mind as to the charac- 
ter of the bill of fare which was to be furnished for their 
sabbath entertainment, and judging from the appearance 
of the sick and dusty traveler, her anticipations were not 
the most flattering. However, she respected ministers, 
and doubtless her christian courtesy was on the alert to 
make her guest comfortable; and besides, the apostle's in- 
junction might have come into her mind, *' Be notforget> 
ful to entertain strangers, for [thereby some have enter- 



KECOLLECTIOKS OE PAYSON. 257 

tained angels, unaware^." And hov/ did she know but 
that amid all the obscurity and dust that surrounded 
the man of God, there might be something wrapped up 
in that plain and homely exterior which contained the el- 
ements of talent and piety. 

We can easily conceive how the Rev. divine, after a 
night's refreshing repose, began to feel his latent ener- 
gies arousing, and that from revenge for his unsightly 
appearance the night before, in a strange family, they 
would assume something of their original and wonted 
power ; and that with the rays of a sabbath sun shining 
into his chamber, he would be reminded of the day and 
the scenes he had aforetime enjoyed, and would begin to 
feel the accustomed rapture of devotion kindling in his 
soul. 

He is called to the morning's repast. In asking a 
blessing upon his food, a few words expressive of grati- 
tude and obligation fall reverently from his lips, like 
drops before the shower, telling what was to come. 

Anon the hour of morning devotion arrives ; the gath- 
ered family are in their place, and bis voice is heard in 
reading from the Book of God — perhaps followed with 
words of wisdom. He is upon his knees, and he pours 
out his fall heart in solemn prayer. It is no wonder that 
the good lady of the house, by this time, is beginning to 
perceive her probable mistake ; and theit she thought 
again of that passage about " entertaining angels una- 
wares.*" But the hour of public assembling arrives, and 
the stranger-preacher is seen in the pulpit, with every 
wondering eye fastened upon him, and curiosity wide 
awake to know who it is that is about to address them in 
the name of the Lord. 



258 KECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

His very looks indicate that a man of God and a man 
of might, too, is indeed before them, when in tones of 
subduing power and richness, and with his accustomed 
fervency of spirit he addresses the Throne of Grace. 
The pious of his congregation are wishing by this time, 
for wings, that they may accompany their spiritual leader 
up to the very portals of heaven. He reads the hymn 
in a manner in which they had not been accustomed to 
witness, and they are prepared in a measure, to listen to 
the message of terror or glad tidings which soon burst 
upon the astonished ear, with such eloquence that every 
mind is attent, every eye chained, and every sleeping 
consience aroused. 

It was then, without question, that his hostess had it 
made out to her to a demonstration, when the sick and 
worn-out traveler of the Saturday evening stood up before 
the astonished congregation, with the solemnitvo f 
eternity upon his countenance, that the *' angel" had 
indeed appeared. Surely if there can be such a thing as 
an agreeable disappointment, the good lady must have 
enjoyed it to her heart's content. Afterwards she became 
much interested in Dr. Payson. 

Dr. Payson's surviving friends love to bring him back 
to life awhile — in imagination — that they may again 
fasten their eyes upon his beloved coontenance, or hear 
again the voice which was once as the most delightful 
music to their ears. They would see him as they had 
been wont to do, on horseback, riding \vith a physician's 
speed throagh the streets, in pursuit of health, or on 
errands of usefulnes > and mercy, or walking with hasty 
stepSj and with modest and unobstrusive mien, with his 
eyes looking straight forward, and scarcely appearing to 
notice surrounding objects. Yet, if you were near 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 259 

enough to him, you would have met the deep flash of his 
eye, and witnessed the heaven of his countenance, which 
told of the busy and meditative mind. 

" A man's character," writes our correspondent, " is 
often exemplified in the domestic animals he keeps. No 
kind man will keep an ill-natured, dangerous dog. Dr. 
Payson, when I knew him, had a horse that was suited to 
his spirit. He rode considerably on horseback then. A 
gentleman observed that Dr. Payson's riding so rapidly 
over the rough, frozen mud of the streets, was perilous. 
He was spoken to on the subject of his fast riding, when 
he remarked that his rule was to keep a horse well, and 
lose no time on the road. 

He had occasion to be in Boston on a Tuesday to 
attend an ecclesiastical council ; he set off early on 
Monday morning and rode that day seventy-seven miles, 
to Newburyport, and the next day to Boston, thirty-three 
miles, when he observed, his horse seemed able to travel 
thirty miles further.* 

The movements of his mind were rapid, so were those 
of his body ; aud thus he desired all movements around 
him to be.'* 

He was seldom seen with the mingled group at the 
the corners of the streets, discussing the topics of the 
passing hour. Aware of the temptation, and having 
learned to appreciate the value of time, and of minis- 
terial character, he would not expose himself to the snare 

*This would seem to be rather hard and fast riding for a minis- 
ter, noted as ministers and sailors are for drivini^ with i^reat speed. 
He was, howovc^r, a '*' merciful man," and doubtless well knew the 
power of endurance which Jiis beast ])ossessed ; and by taking- an 
early start, and with a good horse and well kept, it may not be 
considered as unusual to perform such a journey in the time he 
did. 



260 RECOLLECTIO:^S OF PATSON. > 

or run the unnecessary hazard, even though the course 
he adopted may have exposed him to the remark of be- 
ing austere and unsocial in his manners. 

It may be said by some that here, too, he erred in judg- 
ment, and that a less restricted course in such matters 
might have rendered his life more useful, and lessening 
if not entirely removing the predjudices of a misjudging 
world, and silencing their illiberal remarks. Yet we can- 
not doubt that the course which he pursued was in agree- 
ment with his settled convictions of duty, and probably 
commended itself to the better judgment of those even 
who may have been at times disposed to find fault with 
him. 

The purity of his motives in all that he did or forebore 
to do, his people never questioned. And there were 
among them those who reverenced him in their hearts, 
although his holy life they had no disposuion to imitate ; 
his " hard doctrines" they had no wish to believe. 

His visits among his own people and his journeys abroad 
were not time thrown away, but were improved to great 
advantage. It could not be otherwise with one so willing 
and so *' apt to teach.'' He acted upon the principle t6 
be always and everywhere the minister^ and in all situa- 
tions and circumstances, in his own parlor, or in others; 
by the wayside or at the watering places, or on ship-board, 
as well as in the pulpit, he never seemed to forget that 
he was one. Whether among strangers or acquaintances, 
they witnessed the fact, and gave him reverence. He 
was £ocial, courteous and pleasing in his manners, yet 
he maintained in a very marked degree the dignity of his 
office, blending with the humility of a servant of Christ, 
the urbanity of a perfect gentleman. 



CHAPTER XXIe 

HIS VOYAGE TO CHARLESTON, S. C, 



" Fnll many a gem of purest ray serene 

The dark unfathom'd caves of Ocean bear."— 

So sang the bard in strains of beauty rare, 

And wrote his name in sparkling radiance there. — 

Yet richer gems than orient pearl or gold. 

Of brilliant beauty and etherial mould, 

Float with yon ship upon the sea-green waves, 

Than those which sleep, low in their ocean caves, 

"While from the bounding crest, or distant lea. 

Breaks the glad sound, " Sailor, there's hope for thee." 

It was in the summer of 1817, that Dr. Payson 
embarked on board the ship Liverpool, T. McL. master, 
bound for Charleston, S. C. for the improvement of his 
health. 

A recent interview with the respected, and now vener- 
able shipmaster, will furnish a few incidents of Dr. Pay- 
son, during the voyage. 

The captain was gentlemanly in his manners, and 
benevolent in his feelings, and one of Dr. Payson's hear- 
ers. He gave his minister an invitation to take a passage 
on board of his ship. 

The views which this shipmaster had entertained of Dr. 
Payson, he not having had a very intimate acquaintance. 



262 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

with him, were probably, like those which have been 
commonly entertained by strangers, at variance with the 
truth. 

He had probably supposed him to be gloomy and unso- 
cial in spirit, and of course had anticipated but little 
pleasure in the society of his passenger. 

Capt. McL. however was greatly and most agreeably 
disappointed, as all have been who have entertained sim- 
ilar views. 

On shipboard the minister mingled freely with the 
crew, and became an instructive and entertaining com- 
panion ; yet he was eyed probably by them, at first, as a 
Jonah, or something worse, whom, it is not unlikely, they 
wished in their hearts to see overboard, or at least that 
he might stow himself away in some snug corner out of 
their sight, that they might escape the silent, yet wither- 
ing rebuke of his eye, or the reproof, which they knew 
in their consciences they would deserve, and which they 
might expect from a precise and puritanical parson. 
They felt that he was in their way, and that the oaths 
which they were wont to throw out upon a gale of wind, 
must be fewer and softer, and farther between, than 
would suit their usual practise. 

His knowledge of human kind, and his large amount 
of practical wisdom ; his peculiar tact, together with his 
unbounded desire to lay himself out to do good to all, 
might be said to constitute his " stores," which he knew 
would be in requisition, and which he intended should be 
tnrned to good account in his new situation. And it is 
easy to conceive how a familiar word, now and then a plea- 
sant, intelligent smik-, or a benevolent look, would soon 
cause the stiffened muscles of those hardy faces to relax ; 
and perhaps a pull at the ropes, or a heave at the windlass, 



RECOLLECTIONS OE PAYSON. 263 

or a '^turn" at the helm, now and then, would remove all 
their prejudices, and cause them to look him and their 
messmates in the face with perfect good nature. The sailor 
is easily won, nor does the tarpaulin necessarily cover a 
brainless head ; and a warmer heart than his beats in no 
bosom. 

If at the orders of the superior officer, they had assem-> 
bled in the cabin for prayers, somewhat unwillingly, they 
became gradually less reluctant, until they think of the 
new order of things with a degree of pleasure, and are 
ready to obey the summons to prayers, as they would to 
a season of their wonted conviviality. All who are 
acquainted with the remarkable facility with which Dr. 
Payson could suit himself to every possible emergency, 
may judge what kind of prayers, both in appropriate- 
ness, and fervency, and variety, were offered up in that 
ship's cabin, as she bounded upon the mountain billow of 
the storm, or glided in her stateliness before the gentle 
breeze. 

We may judge too, of the salutary influence of such 
exercises, upon all on board. 

Capt. M. informed us, that morning and evening pray- 
ers were observed during the whole passage out, as also 
a regular religious service on the sabbath, and that there 
was no profane language used among his men while Dr. 
Payson was on board, nor after he left, during the whole 
voyage to Europe. 

Thus by his consistent example, and seasonable re- 
mirks, he made, and left an impression upon the minds 
of this ship's company, which was probably never effaced. 
As it regards the shipmaster himself, now a member of 
Dr. Carruthers church, we are authorized to state that the 
religious impressions which ho received from Dr. Payson 



264 RECOLLECTIONS CE PAYSON. 

during his residence on board, never left him, and that 
the hope of salvation he now indulges, was, in part at 
least, the fruit of that '' good seed of the kingdom," 
which fell upon his conscience during the acquaintance 
which he formed with Dr. Paysdn, on that eventful pas- 
sage. Truly that was a " saving voyage," in a very 
important sen. e. 

Dr. Payson, during a storm of thunder, and lightning, 
and rain, which they experienced while off the ** Capes," 
went on deck to enjoy the scene, and remained there 
during the w^hole of this war of the elements ;. not as Dr. 
Franklin would, to experiment upon electricity, but to 
enjoy the sublimity of a thunder tempest upon the sea 
as he had been wont to do upon the land, and in imagi- 
nation, like the imprisoned eagle, 

" Rising through tempest-shrouded air, 

All thick and dark, with wild winds swelling; 

To brave the lurid lightnings glare. 

And talk with thunders in their dwelling." 

While others might shrink and tremble when exposed 
to the terrific scene, he could sing, conscious of his 
safety under the divine protection ; 

" This awful God, is ours, 
Our Father, and our love." 

Capt. McL. generously offered Dr. P. a passage to 
Europe, which invitation however, circumstances com- 
pelled him to decline. 

We can imagine, how afterwards, as this ship's com- 
mander and crew, entered the cabin or walked the deck, 
they were reminded of the religious services they had 
enjoyed on board, and the instructions of that man of 
God ; — or as they sailed upon life's broader and more 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 265 

hazardous ocean, how raemorjr would revert to some use- 
ful hint which had fallen from his lips, whereby they 
would be led to consult with deeper interest, the grand 
moral chart which God had furnishsd them in his word, 
for their guidance among the shoals and quicksands of 
their passsage, 

Mr. B., a member of Dr. Payson^s church, who ac- 
companied him on this voyage, has favored us with a 
few particulars respecting the return passage. After 
remaining a short time in Charleston, they embarked on 
board a vessel bound for Boston. They were t¥/enty 
days on their passage, 

'' On board of this vessel," says Mr. B., '* there were 
two or three of the hands who were, at first, wild smxd 
reckless, and who seemed much annoyed at the pres- 
ence of their minister passenger. Soon, however, they 
became very civil, and continued so during the remainder 
of the passage ; and assembled with others of the crew, 
in the cabin, for religious services, both on week days, 
and the Sabbath. Before they arrived in Boston, all on 
board became exceedingly attached to Dr. Payson, and 
much interested in his remarks. 

After their arrival, and when about to disembark, Dr. 
Payson and Mr. B. were urged to come on board the 
next day, that they might hold a religious meeting, with 
which request they very willingly complied. 

What a charm and power must there have been in Dr. 

Payson's conversation, what an influence in his presence 

and example, which could have so won upon the hearts 

of these sons of the ocean. He '* cast his bread upon 

the waters," and eternity, only, can reveal the favorable 

results of this voyage. Nor would it be uninteresting to 
12 



266 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOX. 

< 
ascertain the course which those who composed this little 

congregation on ship-board, afterwards steered ; whether 

they have found the port of endless life, or, if yet tossed 

upon the billows, they are " heading " towards it, and 

will one day '* cast anchor within the vail." 

Doubtless, the incidents of that voyage, furnished 
them with a subject of interesting remark ; a serious 
strand to twist with their " yarns,^' with which, years 
afterwards, they would beguile many a conversation, se- 
rious or otherwise, with their companions in the fore- 
castle ; or with landsmen at home. Or, what is still 
better, it may be hoped that those instructions were 
deeply engraven upon their hearts. 

" This voyage," remarks Mr. B., **was of essential 
benefit to Dr. P., he having arisen thereby from a low 
prostration of spirits, and indisposition of body, to re- 
newed health and vigor. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

His conversations always in keeping with occasions — A marriage 
ceremony — showing his precedence, and propriety of speech 
and behavior — His sister's daath announced to him — His re- 
marks on hearing the intelHgence. 

His conversation was always in keeping with the oc- 
casion, especially when performing his parochial visits. 
His heart was in his work, and his work was to win souls. 

Of this grand object of his pulpit labors, he did not 
lose sight when the Sabbath ended. He taught them 
publicly, and from house to house ; yet his zeal and 
piety never became overheated, nor was it injudiciously 
applied. '^ He kept the even tenor of his way." 

Nor could his piety be hid, though not obtrusive. lis 
peculiar savor was apparent, yet delicately diffused over 
all his actions. It consisted not in a sudden outburst of 
uncouth expressions, or abrupt inquiries respecting our 
spiritual condition when he met us, as though he would 
say, I am a minister, and you must listen to what I have 
to say and just as I please to say it. He manifested no 
acrimony of spirit; on the contrary, an inexpressibly 
tender and affectionate manner pervaded all his inquiries 
into your spiritual welfare. In his reproofs, he did not 
fly into your Yacc like the vengeful wasp, merely to 
sting you that you might feel his power, — his rebukes 



26S RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

were kind and gentle, yet would surely be felt by the 
self-accusing conscience of the delinquent. 

The practice adopted by some ministers, of going 
from house to house, and of introducing themselves and 
their subject in a manner almost partaking of rudeness, 
and whh an air that seems akin to a demanding of the 
privilege of praying with the family, whether they de- 
sire it or not, perhaps to their annoyance, by interrupt- 
ing domestice duties ; although it may occasionally be 
attended with some advantage, yet, we believe, is often 
injudicious. 

A minister who should sweep through his allotted field, 
doing up his work, as it were, '' by the^'o^ ; " and who, in 
his calls, pays no respect to character or circumstances ; 
regardless of the manner in which different individuals 
are to be approached, must be very unmindful of the 
remark, that " there is a time and season for all things." 

MARRIAGE CEREMONY. — AN INCIDENT. 

Dr. Payson always appeared in character, wherever he 
was, and on whatever occasion. In the desk, or at the 
conference meeting ; at the social gathering, or at the 
house of mourning ; on the fishing excursion, or at the 
marriage festival ; his manner was remarkably appro- 
priate to the circumstances. 

Among his people, it would have been considered as 
anti-orthodox, to have any one else to tie the nuptial knot. 
The happy pair with all their fond anticipations of their 
contemplated union, could not have foregone the privi- 
lege of having him present, or scarcely have thought 
themselves married, bona Jlde, unless their beloved pas- 
tor had performed the ceremony. His presence graced 



RECOLLECTIOlSrS OFP AYSON. 269 

almost every meeting, at which it was suitable for him 
to be ; and none more than this, to which we allude. 
And with all our strong attachments to his person, it is 
no wonder, that, among the group that had assembled, 
he should be considered as the principal figure, and his 
presence almost indispensable. As we said, he always 
brought with him just the feelings and spirit which the 
speciality of the occasion demanded. Jesus at the grave 
of Lazarus, was Jesus at the ^' marriage of Cana, in 
Gallilee ; " on the Mount of Olives, pronouncing the 
beatitudes, or uttering his parables of wisdom by the 
way-side. So, Dr. P. observed times and seasons, with 
much propriety, and suited his remarks and general de- 
meanor, most appropriately to the various circumstances 
in which he happened to be placed. He was cheerful 
without levity. 

It was during the early part of his ministry, that the 
writer was present where Dr. P. was called to solemnize 
a marriage. It was in a family where he often visited. 
Among the guests on the occasion, were several who 
had seldom heard Dr. P. preach ; whose religious senti- 
ments were at variance with his, and who made no pre- 
tensions to spiritual religion. The good lady of the 
house being desirous that the occasion might be improved 
for the special benefit of the individuals just alluded to, 
proposed promptly to Dr. P. that he should give a relig- 
ious exhortation to the company. Dr. P. saw in a 
moment the impropriety of a measure, forbidden, as he 
thought, by the peculiarity of the occasion. He declined, 
as any wise and judicious minister would have done. — 
His zeal never outran his judgment. His perception of 
propriety was delicate and discriminating. A man of 



270 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

less discernment, a fanatic, in his blind zeal, would not 
have perceived the incongruity of such a measure, would 
have ventured, and stumbled and probably defeated the 
design which his benevolence had prompted. Although 
religion, properl)^ speaking, can never be ont of season, 
either as respects time or place, yet we are commanded 
not to " cast our pearls^ before swine," by an injudicious 
or unseemly exhibition of the truth. There is a time to 
keep silence, and religion may be seen in its purest spirit, 
rejai^ng with them that rejoice, as well as in " weeping 
with those who weep." Dr. Payson saw that at a mar- 
riage festival, sermon or exhortation to repentance would 
be unseasonable. 

That Dr. Payson possessed strong natural sympathies 
is evident from the whole tenor of his intercourse with 
his flock. It has been recorded of him that he did not 
retire to rest during the whole night after he had i:^eived 
intelligence of a beloved brother's death. That event 
hov/ever, took place when he was comparatively young, 
and before he had enjoyed the special hopes of the gos- 
pel. 

Yet many years afterwards, when we communicated 
to him the tidings of a beloved sister's death, (Mrs. R.,) 
he remarked, " I cannot mourn when a christian dies." 
This remark proved only how strong his faith was in 
eternal things, and his sense of the infinitely happier 
state of the christian after death. This sister he most 
affectionately loved, but he believed that for her "to 
die was gain," and he could not sincerely mourn that 
she had gone before him to her everlasting reward. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

The different methods he adopted to advance the spiritual interests 
of his church — His visit to the house of mourning — Happy- 
results, as seen in an instance related by a correspondent — Ref- 
erence to devotional habits in his family — The congregation 
once called to rise — The scene described — D. P.'s disappoint- 
ment — Yet results finally in a revival of religion — Interesting 
scene at a prayer-meeting of the young men of his chureh — 
The character of the society described — His meeting at his 
own house for young men« 

His visits, as might be expected, seldom partook of 
any other character than that of strictly pastoral visits, 
the grand object of which was to engage in spiritual 
conversation. So entirely confined were his remarks to 
religious subjects, that when he called upon his people 
they were prepared for such remarks, and expected 
nothing else. These visits were profitable in the highest 
degree. They afforded, also, to the pastor an opportuni- 
ty to become acquainted whh the spiritual condition of 
his people ; and their various circumstances, whether of 
backsliding or desertion, temptation, afliiction, or re- 
joicing, furnished him with suitable texts and subjects for 
preaching; a help which we see not how any minister 
can dispense with. 

At one period of his ministry, he adopted the plan of 
visiting different families of the parish, (not always 
church-members,) early in the morning, that he might 



272 EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSO^. 

have an opportunity to converse with them before they 
should be dispersed to their different departments of 
labor. We have never heard that he met with any oppo- 
sition from the families he thus visited, while pursuing 
this labor of love ; which doubtless contributed much to 
the spiritual welfare of his flock. 

-■ It would be interesting to the christian community to 
know more of Dr. Payson in his family — more of his 
domestic habits, and the method he employed in training 
his children. Were we competent to the preparation 
of such a chapter, and had we the necessary materials, 
yet from delicacy we should Judge such a course an un- 
warrantable intrusion into the sacredness of the domestic 
circle. Yet we may safely say, that in the endeared re- 
lations of husband and father and master, he was all that 
could be desired in fidelity, christian consistency and 
affection. 

A female domestic, who for several years resided in 
his family, remarked recently, that Dr. P. was in the 
habit of praying with his children separately, and that 
she was permitted to enjoy the same privilege. He would 
say to them, '^ it seems as if my arms would break in 
bearing you up in prayer, but I shall not cease to pray 
for you until you are converted." 

So disposed was he to acknowledge God in all his ways ; 
so alive to a sense of dependence upon God for every- 
thing, that when he removed to a dwelling which he was 
to occupy, he solemnly dedicated it to God. He aided 
others, also, in a work of a similar kind, by being pres- 
ent on such occasions. Truly, he went in and out before 
them as a man of God, carrying religion in its heavenly 
spirit into their families ; exhibiting in himself the savor of 
piety in all his words and transactions ; inscribing *' holi- 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 273 

ness to the Lord as it were upon the bells of the horses." 
Besides famil}^ prayer, morning and evening, he some- 
times appointed a meeting for special prayer at his own 
house, which many of his people attended. This was 
usualy held in the forenoon, perhaps from 11 to 1 o'clock. 
Here they might meet their beloved pastor, to join in re- 
ligious conversation and devotional exercises. We can 
conceive how such occasions would gladden his heart, as 
they led to a more endeared intimacy between the pastor 
and flock,and which proved a precious morsel to invigorate 
the spiritual health and strength of all who were present. 
His own feelings on this subject may be learned from a 
remark that he made in giving an account of such a 
meeting: " My people," said he, " attend the conference 
meeting as usual, and then come here for religious bles- 
sings, hungry as ever,'''* The religion, both of pastor and 
people was not a Sunday religion merely, but an every- 
day religion. Spiritual influences enjoyed by his peo- 
ple were comparable to the gentle rain constantly distil- 
ling ; the '^ small rain" of God's mercy rather than the 
" great rain of His strength." On sabbath morning, 
just before the time of divine service, he would call 
his family together and offer prayer for a blessing upon 
the worship of God's house, and that they might be the 
better prepared to engage in its solemn duties. A man of 
prayer indeed ! Would it not be strange if the labors of 
such a man were not blessed ? 

At the bedside of the dying, on funeral occasions, and 
in his visits to the dwellings of his bereaved flock, he was 
wont to pour out his tenderest sympathies and consola- 
tions. The presentation of the " powers of the world to 
come," as uttered from his lips, was made to assume a 

reality, which bore with surpassing effect upon the 
12* 



274 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON., 

scenes of the sick chamber. The worldling, who had 
forgotten that he was mortal, then feels that truth as he 
had never felt it before. '•Without hope and without God 
in the \\'orld," became a faarful reality to the sinner's con- 
science, which Dr. Payson, by his kind, yet scorching re- 
marks,had awakened. The sick or dying professor is com- 
forted or searches diligently for his passport to eternity. 

" Quite on the verge of Heaven," 

Are all the by-standers around the sick-bed of that de- 
parting saint, when the melting triumphant prayer of 
Payson goes up. We catch the inspiration of the scene 
and the accents of the dying believer, while he exclaims : 

"The op'ning heavens around me shme, 
And Jesus whispers I am his " 

Those who have been present on a funeral occasion 
where Dr. P. was the officiating clergyman, will not be 
likely ever to forget the solemnity of the scene. He 
seemed like an angel there to comfort the mourners. His 
very presence was a precious consolation. His prayers, 
so sympathising and so particular in commending the 
heart-stricken to God, seemed to give a "luxury to grief." 
Uttered in tones of deep commiseration, and clothed in 
such pertinent language, they made the mourning-cham- 
ber seem like the vestibule of heaven. 

He was prompt in visiting the afflicted families of his 
people, which visits were not only blessed to the christian, 
but proved the means of awakening the impenitent. This 
is seen from the following extract : 

Writes one who could testify to the value of such 
visits, " I remember as yesterday the hour when he (Dr. 
P,) called at my father's, after death had entered our fami- 



KECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOISi. 2^0 

ly circle and bereaved us of a beloved mother. We were 
all at home, and our pastor sat down with us, mingling 
his sympathies and prayers with ours under the sore af- 
fliction that had darkened our happy home. I sat near 
the door, hoping he might not single me out for personal 
remark. But just as he was leaving he came where 
sat, and put his hand quietly on my shoulder and saidi- 

" E— , you have talents and ought to consecrate them 

to God." I felt the pressure of that hand and the power 
of those words. I feel them still. When a few days af- 
ter, I called to see him, he met me with the simple ques- 
tion, " well, E- , do you hope your mother's death 

may be sanctified to you ?" The question was but the 
echo of my own feelings, and from that, without asking 
me another question, he went on and showed me my po- 
sition ; stated and answered my difficulties and objections 
with such accuracy that my heart seemed mirrored in 
his, and I felt what I have before expressed, that he had 
the power of reflecting the image so truly that you could 
not fail to discover your own likeness. E. F. C. 

Dr. Cummings, in his Memoir of Dr. P., mentions the 
various methods which he took to awaken his hearers to 
a deeper sense of the importance of religion, introduces 
a letter of Dr. Payson's, giving an account of a plan 
he devised for that purpose. A more particular descrip- 
tion of the transaction alluded to, has been furnished us 
by a brother in the ministry, who well remembers it. 
Our correspondent relates the scene as he had it written 
in his journal. 

THE CONGREGATION CALLED TO ARISE. 

It was on Monday, Jan. 30, 1815, that the event was 
recorded by the brother. 



276 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

" Something unusual occurred yesterday, in our con- 
gregation. Mr. Payson discoursed in the afternoon con- 
cerning future punishment, from a written sermon. The 
first part, only, he delivered, and then laying aside his 
manuscript, and filled with fervor, he spoke extempora- 
neously, and earnestly exhorted all to " flee from the 
wrath to come," and not to be ashamed to appear to oth- 
ers to care for their own souls ; and after he had begged 
pardon for what he should do, he said that on that week 
there would be a fast ; and he gave an invitation to all to 
unite with the communicants, to give up their common 
business for one day for humiliation and prayer. God 
might meet them there. That he might know their 
minds, he requested all who ivould attend the meeting 
to rise. Many rose ; not all ; (Dr. Payson's letter says 
about one third.) " Good God !" exclaimed the preach- 
er, " are there so few that know the worth of their souls, 
and desire its salvation ?" Mr. Payson was encouraged 
to appoint the meeting in the meeting-house instead of 
the conference-room, but so few attended in the forenoon 
that the meeting in the afternoon was held as were 
church fasts generally, in the conference room. 

Dr. Payson, in the letter referred to, describes his own 
views and feelings on this occasion, in his own character- 
istic manner. " The church, to whom the measure w^as 
altogether unexpected, were almost overwhelmed with 
various emotions, and scarcely knew whether to be glad 
or sorry, to hope or fear. You may well suppose that 
the interval between the Sabbath and the Fast, was a 
trying season to me. I felt that I had completely com- 
mitted myself; that my all was at stake. I should not 
have taken such a step, had I not believed I had sufficient 
reason for trusting that God would bear me out in it. I 



KECOLLECTIONS OF PAISON. 277 

expected severe trials, but had few fears of the event. 
The trials came, but they did not come in the way that 
I expected. The day of the Fast was the most dreadful 
day of my life."* 

Those who were present at that meeting, will remem- 
ber one circumstance, which was perhaps the principal 
one that occasioned our pastor's severe mortification. 
We remember very distinctly, that it produced a great 
agitation in our own minds. A scene was presented, 
bordering too much on the ludicrous, to be inserted here. 
But He who heareth prayer, and easily interprets the 
motives and desires of his people, did not eventually 
disappoint the expectations of the pastor, but it was made 
out fully to his satisfaction, that the appointed meeting, 
with all its accompanying infelicityj was followed with a 
blessing indeed, as appears from what the brother above 
mentioned, adds. 

" For at this time a special interest in religion was 
awakened. A number of young men, who met weekly 
to converse on a chapter of the bible, spent the evening 
in prayer for the outpouring of the Spirit. 

Dr. Payson having expressed his expectation that some 
conversions in his congregation would take place, indi- 
viduals were excited to pray much for such an event, nor 
to cease from praying until they should receive an an- 
swer It further appears from Dr. Payson's account of it^ 
that the event very much encouraged him ; " there being 
seventy inquirers, of whom fifty might be expected to join 
the church." " Christ gocth forth conquering and to con- 
quer." That Dr. Payson, especially, and others, may 
have sometimes done what would be regarded as com- 

^Fayson's Memoir. ^ 



278 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

mitting themselves unwarrantably, in expressing their 
expectations of an immediate revival, which did not 
always occur, yet in this instance, and in others, there 
was a realization of this good man's expectations, and an 
answer to the " prayer of faith." 

How long this desirable state of things continued, we 
are not able to say : but in proof that Dr. Payson had a 
people of persevering prayer, who could not rest easy 
under any long protracted suspension of divine influen- 
ces, we copy the following extracts from the record of 
the brother before mentioned. 

Limerick, Feb. 2, 1852. 

^' I remember with much interest the meetings of 
young men connected with Dr. Payson's church, held on 
sabbath evenings. They were pleasant and profitable 
to me. 

Under date of December ISth, 1S15, (this will be per- 
ceived, was in the same year of the scenes just related,) 
I wrote in my journal : " Last Sabbath, I met as usual, 
whh our Society of Young Men." He mentions the 
place of meeting, the members present on the occasion, 
(all of whom but the narrator, and perhaps three or four 
others we think are still living.) "The time was devoted 

to prayer for a revival among us, when brother 

arose to close the meeting. After praying for some min- 
utes with much fervor, and while contemplating the great- 
ness and gloiy of God, he sudden!}^ ceased speaking. 
We all rose from our knees, and those who were nearest 
to the brother thus affected, took hold of him to support 
him, as he appeared to be fainting. He however, waived 
the assistance offered him. We all knelt down again, 
and he proceeded with great solemnity, expressing him-~ 
self in a manner which showed a full assurance that it 



KECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 279 

was an exhibition of the glory of God which filled the 
room, and impressed us with such deep solemnity. 
xVnother brother then led in prayer with unusual warmth 
and importunity. 

What excited us to such an urgency in our supplica- 
tions, was the strong hope we entertained of a revival ; 
several of the church being awakened from a lethargic 
state, and there being some instances of inquiry among 
the congregation." 

The meeting here so feelingly described by our 
brother, we well remember, having been present on the 
occasion. 

The " Young Men's Association" here spoken of, is 
Avorthy of mention, as it affords another instance of the 
influence which Dr. Payson's piety had among his people, 
especially the younger members of his church, and as 
it may perpetuate the memory of the institution itself, 
for the gratification of the surviving members. It is 
matter of grateful mention, that a christian benevolence 
on a more extended scale, seems now to be actuating the 
young men of our churches, in forming associations for 
mutual religious improvement, in some of our large cit- 
ies, which, if properly managed, can hardly be too high- 
ly appreciated. The society of which we have just spo- 
ken, was composed of young men, members of Dr. Pay- 
son's church, of very respectable standing in the commu- 
nity, who met usually on sabbath evenings, to engage in 
prayer, and to converse upon religious subjects, and 
especially upon the services of the sabbath. The breth- 
ren brought warm hearts to these meetings, still under 
the influence of the truth they had heard in God's sanc- 
tuary. They were seasons never to be forgotten by us, 



280 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

Another object at these meetings, which we viewed as an 
essential concomitant of our prayers, was to contribute 
liberally to the relief of indigent ministers of the gospel, 
and young men who were preparing for the ministry. 
It was a young men's society then ; but what have flying 
years effected ? Some of its members have found their 
rest in heaven : others, as they meet, will see the bloom 
of youth exchanged for the tell-tale wrinkle of age, and' 
for raven locks, gray hairs ; and when in the presence 
of those of the third generation, we should refer to our- 
selves as members of " the Young Men^s Society," our 
" grand children'^'' look up and smile. 

No man was more ingenious than Dr. Payson, in 
expedients to awaken the impenitent of his congregation, 
or to keep alive the religious fervor of his church. How 
solicitous to improve every occasion that offered, to drop 
some word of alarm to the careless sinner, and that 
always in the most judicious and affecting manner. It 
would seem that the " blood of souls" would never be 
found upon his garments. 

There is probably no compunction of a keener or more 
distressing character, that visits the breast of a good 
man, especially a minister, than a consciousness of delin- 
quency, for having failed to improve some fit season of 
giving reproof, to a sinner unprepared for eternity, espe- 
ciclly if the opportunity has passed away forever. If 
there can be regret in heaven among the redeemed, per- 
haps there is no reminiscence of his life on earth, that 
will more surely produce it. It is not improbable, not- 
withstanding Dr. Payson's fidelity to his people, that he 
was often overwhelmed with a sense of his delinquency 
in this matter. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Charge of idolatry in Dr. Fayson's people — His uncommon piety 
and talent combined, constituted the basis of his extraordinary 
eminence — Our deep feelings of reverence for him — Illustra- 
tions — The warm admiration for him universal among his people 
— No room for envy or jealousy on the part of his successors 
— Our opinion of him unchanged, after the lapse of twenty years 
— A lady's visit to him in his last sickness. 

We often hear the charge, that Dr. Payson was the idol 
of his people. We repudiate such a charge entirely, if the 
term is to be understood in its more literal or primitive 
signification. As such, the charge would be undeserving 
of notice ; yet, in a more popular, and less restricted 
sense, the fact may be admitted. His superior mental 
qualities could not fail to excite our admiration, — and 
for his exalted piety, who could help loving him. Such 
expressions of our affection and admiration, we judged 
to be in accordance with the noblest feelings of our na- 
ture, and with the Word of God, itself. 

Mental or moral qualities, where they are possessed 
by any one, in only an ordinary degree, usually attract 
little notice. The absence of goodness, in an individual, 
though possessed of ** talents angel bright,^' leaves him 
only to be admired^ not loved. It was the union of the 
best qualities of the head, and of the heart, that awakened 
in the minds of Dr. Paysou's people, such high estima- 



282 RECOLLECTIO^^S OF PAYSON. 

tion of his character. On their part, it was the tribute 
of the understanding to superior excellence ; the homage 
cf the heart to extraordinary piety ; an offering which 
they could not withhold, if they would. Such an expres- 
sion of feelings was only in obedience to the Apostle's 
injunction, *'to esteem those who labor among you very 
highly in love for their work's sake;" an injunction not 
easily or often over-observed. It was a command to 
which Dr. Payson's people were disposed " to make full 
proof" of obedience, by every demonstration in their 
power. We think they incurred no blame in so doing. 

Should it still be averred that theirs was an undue 
admiration, let the fault be attributable rather to the 
fraihy than to the depravity of our nature. 

If it were wrong, at least let us plead some palliation of 
our sin in adopting that beautiful sentiment, dissociated 
from its gifted, yet unenvied author, though partaking 
more of the poetry than of the truth of theology — '* The 
accusing spirit fled to heaven's high chancery, blushed as 
he gave it in ; the recording angel dropped a tear upon 
the word, and blotted it out forever." 

Yet it was God's image which w^e beheld and loved, as 
reflected from that piece of clay. Why should we be 
condemned for our admiration of what is grand and 
beautiful in a specimen of the moral and intellectual in 
the divine workmanship, when we are allowed to view 
with enthusiasm, the richness and magnificence displayed 
in the natural world ; — the gem that sparkles in the hand 
of the artist ; the rainbow that spans the heavens in its 
beauty, or the lightning that flashes from the summer 
cloud ? 

Man has not in himself, whereof to glory. ^^ God 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSO:^. 283 

makes men great," Dr. Erskine remarks, by bestowing 
on them their distinguished genius and talents. Some of 
the courtiers of the Emperor Sigismund, who had no taste 
for learning, inquired why he so honored and respected 
men of low birth, on account of their science. The 
Emperor replied, '*In one day I can confer knighthood 
or nobility on many ; in many years I cannot bestow gen- 
ius on one. Wise aud great men are created by God 
only : no advantage of education ; no favorable comhina- 
nation of circumstances produce talents, where the Fa- 
ther of Spirits dropped not the seeds of them, in the souls 
which He made." 

God makes man great, and w^ho shall undervalue the 
workmanship of his hands. If, in rendering our estimate 
of Dr. P. we do but exalt the wisdom and grace of the 
great Architect of the structure we are contemplating, 
where is room for envy, or for the charge of creature 
idolatry. Our remarks generally, in this biography, 
may, by some, be supposed to partake more of highly 
colored eulogium, than a sober impartiality allow^s : it is a 
criticism which we are anticipating ; however, unfounded 
it may be in truth. It would be difficult for any one of ord- 
inary christian susceptibilities, to have known Dr. Payson, 
as we knew him, and not to have felt the enthusiasm of 
which we speak. Nor should it be deemed reprehensible, 
when it is considered that our high regard for him, was 
productive only of good ; for the truth fell upon our 
hearts with augmented power, in consequence. We 
were not led by our strong attachment to the man, to any 
alienation from the Great Fountain of life, but we rather 
loved the Giver all the more, for his gift. 

Says Charlotte Elizabeth, who wss accused of an idol- 
atrous affection towards a beloved friend : '' after his 



284 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

death, they told me I had made an idol of him. It was 
equally false and foolish. An idol is something that 
either usurps God's place, or withdraws our thoughts and 
devotions from him. The very reverse of this was the 
case. That was surely a profitable idol, which kept me 
always prayerful before God, watchful over myself, dili- 
gent in the discharge of duties, and in continual thanks- 
giving for the mercies I had received 1 Do I repent lov- 
ing him so well? I w^ish it had been possible for me to 
have loved him better. These warm affections of the 
heart are among the sweetest relics of a lost Eden, and I 
would sooner tear up the flowers that God has left to 
smile in our daily path through a sin-blighted wilderness, 
than I would cease to cherish,'' &:c. 

Who has not seen that a pastor thus warmly loved, 
becomes a richer blessing to his flock thereby. A true 
minister says, "I must love my people, and they must love 
me, or all hope of a pleasant and profitable ministry must 
be abandoned." There seemed no abatement in this 
mutual love between Dr. Payson and his people, to the 
last. 

When the apostle said ^* I ceased not to warn every 
man night and day with tears, ^^ the last word of the sen- 
tence tells the whole story : reveals the whole secret of 
his influence : it was his strong and undissembled affec- 
tion for them. 

This veneration and love for Dr. Payson, was awaken- 
ed at the very commencement of his labors among us. 
We have in distinct remembrance, and as vivid and fresh 
as if it were but yesterday, the emotions of respect and 
veneration which swelled our bosom; (emotions which 
we are not conscious that the presence of any other man 
ever inspired ;) as on one Sabbath, soon after he came 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 283 

to Portland, we were returning from divine services, and 
walked the street together. We kept at a respectful dis- 
tance, eyeing him askance, our heart bowing down in its 
sincerest acknowledgments, and earnestly desiring to 
reveal to him, the secrets that labored in our youthful 
bosom. We wished to tell him how the heart had been 
taken captive by his thrilling appeals, and powerful illus- 
trations; while from him, a side-long glance, perhaps 
read our inward struggles and aspirations and seem- 
ed to say " My young friend, with what freedom may- 
est thou tell me all thy heart : with what gladness 
would I attend to any question relating to thy spiritual 
interests." Not as yet having had a formal introduction 
to him, how highly did we anticipate such a privilege. 
Not that we expected " virtue to go out from him," 
merely from *^ touching the hem of his garment;" 
nothing of that : yet was there an irrepressible desire 
to come in close companionship with one who seemed to 
us at the time, somewhat akin to an angel. 

We are not unaware of the reality and strength of sim- 
ilar attachments, which obtain generally in the time " of 
the first love," towards one who has been instrumental in 
leading the mind to the subject of the soul's salvation. 

For ten or twenty years after our first acquaintance 
with him, his presence would inspire feelings as reveren- 
tial and affectionate as it ever had done ; it was not like 
the fervency of the first happy moments of our acquain- 
tance, yet it was an enthusiasm sobered and tempered by 
frequent interviews, into a more moderate and permanent 
flame.^ 



^In proof that an admiration similar to ours, towards distinguish- 
ed individuals, has been felt, and publicly expressed by others, 1 
quote the following. Says one, " We weut up into his study, 



286 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

Nor does there appear any abatement in the affection- 
ate remembrance of Dr. Payson's old friends towards 
him, even to the present day. Let them meet any where, 
after ever so long an absence, and who will be more 
likely to claim their first attention as a subject of remark, 
than the man under whose ministry they once sat ; or 
to what in the past will they be more likely to refer, than 
the precious seasons which Dr. Payson's ministry affor- 
ded. 

Every heart dilates, every tongue is eloquent then. 
The scenes of ten or twenty years delightful spiritual 
privileges, pass before them in distinct review ; and in 
imagination, they revel together, in those unforgotten 
spiritual feast-days. The aged matron is back in her 
youth-time again, and he of gray hairs, is heard to 
exclaim, with a heart in tears ; '^ There was never 
another such a man as Dr. Payson, on earth. "^ 

It may be that we speak as barbarians to the young, 
and to those who have had no personal acquaintance 
with Dr. Payson. Time has in a measure healed the 
wound which deatli has inflicted, yet his mourning church 
can never lay aside their weeds. 

sometimes silent, sometimes conversing, as we felt ourselves 
inclined, or more properly, as he felt inclined ; for during all the 
course of my long intimacy with him, my respectful attention 
never abated ; and my wish to hear him, was such, that I con- 
stantly watched every dawning of communication from that great 
and illuminated mind." 

^A gentleman of great respectability, now resident at Boston, 
thus writes us. " Nothing concerning Dr. Payson can ever be 
uninteresting to me. I do most sincerely and heartily sympathise 
with you in your estimation of his character ; and beiieve that we 
shall '•'• never look upon his like again.'' I love to call up those 
bye-gone days ; the memory of them is sweet, and often refresh- 
ing to my soul." N. D. 



EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOK. 287 

The expression of these strong and tender susceptibil- 
ities of Dr. Payson's people towards him, ought then to 
be viewed with no emotions of envy, but the contrary. 
Viewed in its proper light, it will be seen, that the strong 
affection they manifested toward their pastor, guarantees 
to his successors, a similar affection. As in the conjugal 
relation, the frequent mention of a long cherished attach- 
ment of a husband towards the first beloved, instead of 
creating alarm in the bosom of her successor, should only 
strengthen her confidence in her husband ; and that he 
who could love so ardently and tenderly the j^rsi, is capa- 
ble of bestow^ing a suitable affection upon any other who 
may fill her place. 

We introduce another reminiscence from our brother, 
on the subject of the affection of Dr. Payson's people 
towards him. 

May 5th, 1815. '' Mr. Payson sailed for Philadelphia 
for his health. A very favorable opportunity presented 
itself. The captain of the vessel is a man of sincere and 
ardent piety ; he feels all the warmth of the christian's 
first love : has lately joined Dr. P.'s church : is resolved 
to preserve strict order on board, and to maintain prayer. 

Mr. Payson has a strong hold on the affections of his 
people, and no flock ever loved their Pastor more than 
they do. 

I walked on Munjoy's Hill, with one who wished to 
catch a last glimpse of the vessel, as she left our shores. 
He thought with pleasure, on the delightful duty of 
prayer, in which he supposed they were then engaged." 
While Dr. Payson's benevolence embraced the world, his 
affections specially centered on his church and congrega- 
tion. This he expressed from the pulpit, and it greatly 
attracted their affections towards him." C. F. 



288 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

The lady, (qow deceased,) who wrote the following 
lines, was an admirer, and constant hearer of Dr. Payson 
during nearly the whole of his nainistry. The strength 
and fervency of her affection appears to the last. Just 
before his death, she visited him for the last time. It was 
an affectmg scene ; she returned home, and in endeavor- 
ing to give some relief to her feelings, penned the lollow- 
ing lines. They are the language of deep feeling; we 
can almost see the falling tears, while in the depth and 
friendship of her grief, she pays this last tribute of her 
respect and affection to her dying Pastor. 

We insert the lines, not for any intrinsic value there is 
in the poetry, but only as evincive of the strength of her 
affection for him, and her unfeigned sorrow in view of his 
approaching dissolution. 

I.INES ON VISITING DR. PAYSON, JUST BEFORE HIS DEATH, 
BY ONE OF HIS HEARERS. 

And is that heavenly, dying look, 
The last I, sir, must have from thee ? 

O painful thought ! O dreadful stroke 1 
Surely it must not, cannot be. 

And are those precious words, the last, 

I ever from those lips shall hear ? 
Those lips which seem like Prophet's, touched 

With holy rapture, heavenly fire ? 

Although thy cup of bliss is full, 

And seems almost to overflow, 
Yet I, too selfish to rejoice. 

Am fill'd with grief and deepest woe. 

The pious stranger weeps the loss 

Of eloquence inspir'd by Heaven; 
And can thy own bereaved flock, 

JE'er cease to weep such blessings riven ? 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 289 

All no ! for we have seen thee weep 

Our frequent wand'rings from thy God ; 

Our sins depriv'd thine eyes of sleep, 
While thine entreaties we withstood. 

Thou did'st like Jeremiah mourn 
The sins which thou could'st not restrain : 

We do lament, thou holy man, 

That thou for us did'st weep in vain. 

But low before that throne of grace 
Where thou thy flock so ofthad'st led; 

Prostrate we will our sins confess, 
And seek the gracious Saviour's aid. 

And when this life's eventful scenes. 

With all its joys and woes shall cease ; 
We'll meet thy much lov'd spirit there, 
In the blest worlds of joy and peace. 
Portland, 1827. 

We are happy to record, that the people who could 
love Dr. Payson so well while living, and so fondly 
cherish his memory afterwards, are not slow to appre- 
ciate the excellencies of those who have successively 
occupied his pulpit, and taught at their firesides. 

We venture the remark, that no ministers in the land, 
at this moment, are more highly respected and loved, 
than the present gifted incumbents of the Congregational 
pulpits in Portland. 

Yet we are not aware that in instituting comparisons 
between Dr. Payson and others, that we derogate from 
the character of any other man. No other minister is 
reduced in his intellectual or moral stature, by a compar- 
ison with Dr. Payson as a standard. Every man will still 
retain his own size. In public estimation, he will rise or 

sink, to his own proper level ; as there are mountains 
13 



290 'recollections of paysojst. 

upon the face of the globe which are truly deserving of 
our admiration, although there are others still more ele- 
vated than they. The Alleghanies, and Mt. Washington 
maintain their elevated grandeur, though Mt. Blanc and 
the Andes tower above them. The Danube and St. 
Lawrence will not cease to be accounted among the 
noble of rivers, because an Amazon, in its ampler length 
and breadth, rolls its mightier flood to the ocean. 

Other ministers may not be like Dr. Payson in many 
respects, and perhaps it is best that they should not be. 
Others less gifted, or differently gifted, may in some 
cases be equally useful. 

Many lights of signal brilliancy, both intellectual and 
spiritual, during the last fifty years, have been lighted 
up, burned on in their splendor, and gone down, undim- 
ned. Great men have arisen in arts and in arms ; in 
theology and general science, and literature, to whom, in 
person, while living, or to whose memory when dead, a 
becoming deference and respect has been shown, and no 
man thinks of protesting against such expressions of 
regard and admiration. Why should deserved respect 
be withheld from the memory of Payson ? When such 
men are removed from the world, and such lights extin- 
guished, as has been remarkably the case within the last 
year or two, both in the old world and the new, how 
fearful the chasm. And how noticeable, whenever some 
Colossus in literature or arms, has fallen. In reading the 
life of Dr. Samuel Johnson, we were struck with the fol- 
lowing remarks of one of his admirers, (not Boswell,) 
respecting the decease of that great man. 

'* He has made a chasm, which not only nothing can 
fill up, but which nothing has a tendency to fill up. John- 
son is dead, — Let us go to the next best : there is no- 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 291 

body : no man can he said to put you in mind of John- 
son,^'* How very striking the last clause of the sentence : 
" no one to put you in mind " of the man ; that is, of 
just such a man as he. 

Inquire of any one of Dr. P.'s surviving church mem- 
bers, who retains a reputable standing in the christian 
community, if the remark respecting Dr. Johnson, just 
referred to, is not strikingly applicable to Dr. Payson ; 
and he will answer in the affirmative, by his speaking 
countenance, and in most significant tones, which tell 
you that the heart's prompting is in the reply. 

In language almost similar to the opinion given of 
Johnson, writes one respecting Dr. P., "I know not 
where to find a comparison, for I have never heard a 
preacher who reminded me of him ; not one, whom for a 
moment, I could listen to, and have brought back, the 
impression of the preacher of my childhood.'' 

E. F. C. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Character of his Theology — Anecdote respecting the Taste and 
Exercise scheme — His Calvinism once challenged — Was his 
preaching sufficiently doctrinal — An incident — Remarks on doc- 
trinal preaching — Free from all innovations in his Theology — 
Beautiful harmony between his preaching and practice — His 
strong confidence in God illustrated. 

Dr. Payson's Theology was decidedly Calvinistic, ting- 
ed somewhat with a Hopkinsian hue.* 

His great attachment to the Bible, as affording the 
only sure foundation of true principles in Theology, led 
him to form his opinion by that infallible standard, rather 
than from the opinions of men. Spiritual experience was 
a great and effectual teacher with him, whereby he deri- 
ved instruction, from a voice w^ithin, answering to a voice 
from above. His frailty taught him ; his vileness taught 
him ; his temptations, his conflicts, his defeats, all taught 
him, so that in the most important sense, he was a 
*' scribe, well-instructed unto the kingdom of Heaven." 

Much of his theology was acquired while passing 

"He was once conversing with a minister, who held th^t our ex- 
ercises of mind, were directly created by God's Spirit, and not the 
result of a permanent taste or principle in the soul ; he said in 
support of the opposite opinion, " If you should throw a pumpkin 
to a dog, he might smell of it, perhaps bark at it, but a swine would 
eat it. In respect to tlie doctrines of taste and exercise, it will be 
seen that he favored the opinions of Edwards and Burton, rather 
than that of Emmons. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 293 

under the cloud ; while " he dwelt in Meseck, and 
sojourned in the tents of Kedar." 

Christ was emphatically his great Teacher, and '' none 
teacheth like him." 

The extent and variety of his religious experience, 
comprised a volume, which on earth, he was compelled 
to read with sighs, and flowing tears, but in heaven he 
reviews it, by a light that makes all plain, which once 
seemed dark and intricate : Heaven interprets what here 
was shrouded in mystery. He has arisen above the dark 
cloud ; tinged with brightness, indeed, as he looked upon 
it here, but now, all bright and glorious. 

The writings of men, singular for their knowledge 
in the things of God, such as Newton, and" Brain- 
erd, and Edwards, and Thomas-a-Kempis, were con- 
sulted much by him, which served as a key, or an expo- 
sition to his own deep, and distrusting experience. Mat- 
thew Henry was his favorite commentator : he used it 
in his study, and read from it at his family devotions. 

From this brief enumeration of his favorite authors, 
may be learned, in some measure, the character of his 
theological views. 

His Calvinism, however, was once called in question, 
by one of his hearers. 

Dr. Payson had preached a sermon, in which this good 
brother thought there was presented an anti-calvinistic 
view of the subject, by which the brother was alarmed, 
lest his pastor had advanced sentiments, that led to armin- 
ianism. 

Meeting his minister soon afterwards in the street, he 
hailed him, and rather abruptly inquired of him, ''when 
he was going to exchange whh brother T." The Rev. 
Mr. T. was a very good brother, of the Methodist con- 



294 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

nexion, in town. At that time the Congregationalists and 
Methodists were not in the habit of exchanging pulpits, 
as they now do. 

It has been objected to Dr. P.'s preaching, that it was 
not of a sufficiently doctrinal character : that particular 
points in theology, which are deemed cardinal in the cal- 
vinistic system, were not sufficiently prominent in his dis- 
courses ; especially the doctrine of Election. In looking 
over a Journal kept by the writer, during the first period 
of Dr. Payson's ministry, in which he had noted down 
his texts, there does not appear one, which would lead 
to a particular or exclusive discussion of this, so call- 
ed, offensive doctrine ; although in the sketches of 
those discourses, the doctrine is adverted to, and vir- 
tnally, and unequivocally acknowledged. Indeed, that 
doctrine, and its kindred ones, are implied in all his 
sermons, written or extempore, published and unpublish- 
ed ; although he had adopted the principle of Mr. New- 
ton, viz : that of diffusing these Bible doctrines through his 
discourses, as a lump of sugar in a cup of tea ; the whole 
should taste of it, but it should not be found in a separate 
form. 

Although he seldom employed the naked terms, and 
technicalities of theology in his sermons, yet they con- 
tained the spirit and marrow of all scriptural doctrines, 
and that to such a degree, that the wonder is, that his 
plainness and fidelity in this respect, had not offended, 
and driven away more from his congregation. No 
preacher was ever more pointed and uncompromising in 
this matter. For example, the doctrine of human de- 
pravity, native and entire, ran like a stream of lightning 
through his discourses, which were calculated to tear up 
everything in the sinner's heart by the roots; truths 



EECOLLECTIONS OE PAYSON. 295 

which fell like *' hot thunderbolts'' among the congrega- 
tion. The absolute dependence of the impenitent sinner, 
and of christians, upon the Divine Spirit ; the consequent 
helpless and ruined state of man, by nature, and his 
being at the disposal of a righteous and sovereign God, 
for life or death, were doctrines he exhibited and enfor- 
ced in no stinted measure, and with great pungency and 
boldness. 

From the plans of his extempore discourses, which the 
compiler had noted down in his memorandum, at the 
time they were delivered, may be clearly seen implied, 
the sentiment that " God hath mercy on whom He will 
have mercy,'' which is in fact the doctrine of personal, 
eternal, and unconditional election. 

There was nothing apparent in his preaching, that had 
a tendency to blind the minds of his hearers, as to what 
doctrines he believed himself, or what he would have 
them believe. The books which he read and recom- 
mended to his students, and his church, were such as 
Dr. Bellamy, and Pres. Edwards's writings, and others, 
of sound orthodox faith ; which fully confirms our opin- 
ion of the soundness of his theological views. 

Dr. Payson doubtless, had reasons of sufficient weight 
in his own mind, for adopting the course he did with re- 
gard to his manner of presenting the doctrine of Elec- 
tion to the people. He knew how often the doctrine had 
been unskilfully handled by preachers ; how it had been 
perverted by the hearers, in many instances to antino 
mlan abuse, by giving a false peace to the conscience of 
the impenitent. Pie was aware, too, probably, that the 
subjects of his sermons were already sufficiently offen- 
sive to the natural heart, without the introduction of any 
thing further, not absolutely essential, to render them 
more so. 



296 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

His people never found fault with his method of ex- 
hibiting truth which he from the first, observed. They 
highly respected his opinions and judgment in this mat- 
ter. 

No man could be more guihiess of the charge of 
keeping back the truth, or of failing to declare the 
Avhole counsel of God. Here he acquitted himself like 
an apostle. -n his preaching, h singled out, not per- 
sons, but characters. A sermon which he once preached 
from the text, '• Thou art the man,'' will bear ample tes- 
timony to his faithfulness in giving to every one his por- 
tion in due reason. 

Those who had only heard of the character of Dr. 
Payson's preaching, or who had heard him preach but 
occasional!}-, vrere not qualified to judge respecting his 
general treatment of doctrinal subjects. To have listened 
to him during the course of ten years of consecutive 
sabbaths, would have given them a correct view of this 
subject. Those who ^- icouJd have it^^ that Dr. P. was 
defective in the system of doctrines which he preached 
were generally unwilling to be convinced of their error. 
Hence it was that when some ministers, laboring .under 
a wrong impr-ession in this matter, were called to 
preach in his pulpit, they would be likely to introduce 
subjects of a special doctrinal character, supposing that 
that had not been faithfully exhibited to Dr. P.'s peo- 
ple. This, what his people would call an improper 
interference, always gave offence, because it seemed to 
imply an impeachment of the wisdom of their pastor's 
course. The offense given was not owing to their disbe- 
lief in these doctrines, or an unwillingness to hear them 
discussed, under suitable circumstances ; this remark 
applies to the more enlightened portion of his church. 



BECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 297 

We have received a letter from a respected minister, 
who mentions a sermon that was once preached in Dr. 
P.'s pulpit, during his absence, on the subject of Elec- 
tion : and that Dr. P. himself, on hearing of it, was 
somewhat disturbed in his mind ; not because of the doc- 
trine itself, but for fear it might have been injudiciously 
handled, and thereby have proved an evil rather than 
a blessing. 

We remember well, the occasion of which the brother 
speaks, the preacher and the sermon, the text and the 
divisions, which we noted down at the time, and which 
are now before us. It was a very plain, solemn and 
clear elucidation of the doctrine, calculated to injure no 
one. It was perfectly scriptural, and just such an exhibi- 
tion of the naked truth as we believe Dr. P. himself, had 
he heard it, would have taken no exception to ; at least to 
the sentiments, even if he had doubted the expediency of 
introducing it to his people. The text was, *' The coun- 
sel of the Lord shall stand, and He will do all His plea- 
sure." A noble text, and as true as the Book of God ; 
embracing principles in which it seems to us, all who love 
God's character must rejoice. 

The preacher was the E,ev. Mr. G. of W., a very 
worthy, respectable and successful minister, now livincr. 
With our most hearty approbation of the wisdom of the 
course which Dr. P. pursued, among his people, under 
the circumstances in which he was placed, we cannot but 
commend the practice of those who, in their preaching, 
choose to adopt a different one from that of Dr. Payson. 
Some of our ablest divines, as it is well known, under 
whose ministrations great and precious revivals have 
been enjoyed, were not sparing in giving great promi- 
nence in their discourses, to these cardinal doctrines. — 
13* 



298 BECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

God honored them and his servants who declared them. 
The doctrine of eternal, personal election to the unre- 
generate heart, is anything but soothing . It has per- 
plexed and distressed many, who have been brought near 
enough to see it, and under an awakened conscience, to 
feel its truth bearing upon their own individual case. — 
They have been ready to '' fly into the face of Jehovah,'' 
for revealing such an unpalatable truth, yet who have af- 
terwards, under a sweet submission to God's sovereignty, 
instead of impeaching his wisdom, been willing to defend 
the ninth chapter of Romans, with ^' the last drop of 
their blood," and to sit down calmly and with tears flow- 
ing from a melting heart, to adore the percious conso- 
lation and wisdom contained in it. 

We cannot forbear relating, in this connection, an ac- 
count given us by a good christian lady, of her troubles 
about this doctrine iu her own experience, and her happy 
deliverance from them. The relation may prove ser- 
viceable to others in similar circumstances. 

She had been deeply awakened to her situation as a 
sinner. She had arrived to that fearful spot in her histo- 
ry, to which so many come and then stop ; from which 
many, alas ! tired and exhausted in their struggle with 
the Divine sovereignty, sink into a state of despondency, 
or go back to their idols and their gods. The dark cloud 
of ignorance and pride, and unsubmissiveness rises up 
and obscures the wisdom and justice of Jehovah's gov- 
ernment, which shines forth in the Bible 

*« With truth so bright, 

As dazzles and confounds the sight.'* 

Unwilling to submit to divide wisdom, or to *' wait the 
great decisive day," they must " cut the knot," or de- 
clare the subject inexplicable. They, notwithstanding, 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 299 

respect^ the doctrine, and dare not directly deny its 
truth. They feel the quarrel within, but they cannot — no, 
*' they never can be reconciled to it." If they could 
disbelieve it, they would ; but there it stands, written as 
with a sunbeam, " I will have mercy upon whom I will 
have mercy." Read — how it looks just like God : heark- 
en — how it speaks just like God. And there is no evad- 
ing its truth, or its import, or its justice. Angels, long 
before, beheld a similar inscription, upon the pillars of 
the Eternal Throne ; angels — the fallen and the kept, 
saw the truth of the inscription, by the one not to be dis- 
puted, as they learn their expulsion from heaven ; by the 
other to be humbly and thankfully acknowledged as they 
cry *' Alleluia ! Just and righteous art Thou, Lord God Al- 
mighty" — dark, deep, inscrutable lines ! But all is right. 

" Nor Gabriel asks the reason why, 
Nor God the reason gives " 

But this lady still went about, carrying the burden upon 
her heart. 

We do not say she was not a christian during all this 
time ; she probably was. But the cloud was to pass away. 
Her anguished spirit was to be relieved. Led, doubtless, 
by the Holy Spirit, she fell upon her knees, and poured 
out her sorrows to her Heavenly Father, with the very 
text upon her lips which had proved a *'stone of stumbling 
and rock of offense" for many weary days and nights. 
Even upon that very rock she knelt, and turning the 
text, into a prayer, I said, "Lord, it is written, 'I 
will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy ;' 
Have mercy upon me." Faith and submission ! what can 
ye not acccomplish ! The cord was unloosed that she 
had been twisting up, in her unbelief and folly, From 



300 RECOLLECTIOXS OF PAYSON. 

that moment, all her doubts and troubles respecting the 
doctrine of the text, left her. Like Hannah, though be- 
fore of a sorrowful spirit, she was comforted, ''arose and 
went away, her countenance was no more sad." The 
web with which Satan had entangled her, as thousands 
have been, was broken. Defeated in his project by one 
strong;er than he, and the captive is released ; he darts 
back, like a spider, to his den, again to weave his web, 
and to await his opportunity to " beguile unstable souls." 

As much as some of these good old-fashioned doc- 
trines of the Bible at the present day are scorned, carica- 
tured, disjointed and perverted, we love to defend and to 
preach them. We delight to hear them outspoken and 
free, from the pulpit, without disguise. Is there not rea- 
son to fear that the truth is suffering by concealment, and 
that we, at the present day who are called to preach plain- 
ly and directly these truths of God will have to suffer for 
our neglecting to do so, and that our people must suffer 
with us. 

It does one's heart good to meet a judicious, godly 
layman ; a worn-well and well-worn pilgrim, who will sit 
down and talk with us about those precious doctrines im- 
bedded in the Assembly's Catechism, which he first 
learned from his sainted mother, and which have been his 
song in the house of his pilgrimage. Heart meets heart 
on such an occasion. Nor does the interview lessen in 
interest as the good dame of the household, who has all 
her life-time bowed with her husband at the family altar, 
with her countenance brightening by the reminiscences of 
other d'vys,breaks in upon the conversation, "O yes, these 
blessed truths, which our good minister preached for half 
a century ; precious bread of life, upon v/hich we fed ; 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOK, 301 

which we brought up our children upon, now thrifty and 
honoring well those doctrines by holy lives." 

There is a golden chain here, inseparably linking these 
grand Bible truths together, and which are fastened to the 
pillars of God's throne. Oar only secure hold for eternity 
is upon this chain. No spiritual christian, but has his grasp 
upon it, or at least it has upon him. Our good Methodist 
brother in the prayer he just offered, acknowledges these 
truths, in fact; peradventure his eyes may be holden,yet 
his heart is right, and under a sense of his dependence, 
upon sovereign grace, the language of his prayer reveals 
his belief. 

Take these grand truths just alluded to, from the Bible, 
and what have you left ? You disembowel it ; you leave 
it without a frame-work for its support ; without sinews or 
muscles. Look at it; a mutilated^ nerveless, lifeless thing. 
Is that the Bible God gave to man ? Is it that which Luther 
loved and defended ? that which came in the May-flower, 
and which our pilgrim fathers opened and prayed, and 
wept over upon Plymouth Rock ? — not it. 

There was mucli variety in the subjects which Dr. Pay- 
son discussed in the pulpit. Fie seldom touched upon the 
prophetical parts of scripture, or on subjects mysterious 
and occult. The types and emblematical passages, 
though capable of affording instruction, he left for those 
who had leisure, or special taste, to pursue an investiga- 
tion of them. He chose subjects which he deemed more 
profitable to his people, than an elaborate, perhaps fanci- 
ful interpretation of the '' bells and pomegranates ; " or 
'* Nine and twenty knives ; " a text once preached from, 
by a minister who would nat.be outdone in the selection 
of difficult texts. Dr. Payson was alive to all the hidden 
beauty and glory of God's revealed word, and was deep- 



302 EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

]y interested in its rich and inimitable imagery — he was 
most happy and successful in his manner of exhibiting 
aud explaining bible truth ; yet his forte lay in stringent, 
and overwhelming appeals to the conscience. When he 
spake, *' Sinners in Zlon were afraid, and fearfulness 
surprised the hypocrite in heart." 

There was no parade of learning about his sermons. 
For fruit he gave not flowers ; nor for an egg, a scor- 
pion, nor stone for bread, neither bones for meat. " Out 
of his treasure, he brought forth good things." *' So he 
fed his people according to the integrity of his heart, and 
guided them by the skillfulness of his hands." 

With the philosophising theories, substituted in more 
nlodern times, for the scriptural representation of regen- 
eration ; and which rob the Holy Ghost of much of his 
divine prerogative in that great work, be sure, Dr. P. 
would have no sympathy ; nor with any supposed new 
discoveries in the mechanism or the operations of the 
mind ; a view that would render Regeneration an easier, 
or a different thing, from what the Bible, and the past ex- 
perience of the pious in all ages, have represented it ; nor 
did he believe that a *' turning from darkness to light, and 
from the power of sin and satan unto God," can now be 
more easily achieved in consequence of having a clearer 
understanding of the nature of the human mind. 

A sentinel, too discerning and faithful was he, to be 
hood-winked to such glaring errors, or not to lift the 
trump of alarm at their approach. And never, probably, 
was there greater need that the watchmen on Zion's 
walls should be found on their knees ; when the " enemy 
is coming in like a flood,'* lest, sooner than we expect, 
the truth will be realized, of our Savior's remark, " Nev- 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 303 

ertheless when the Son of Man cometh, shall He find 
faith on the earth." 

The religious principles which he professed to believe 
and to advocate, were not idle theories with him, but car 
ried out into constant and unwavering practice. This 
agreement of his life with his preaching, was to be seen 
and acknowledged, even by his enemies ; and no doubt 
many a conscience-stricken sinner, felt the withering 
rebuke of his consistent and holy life ; which gave, per- 
haps more than the doctrines themselves, a reality and 
permanency to the truth he had heard. The doctrines he 
preached, found a counterpart in his ov/n life and varied 
experience, in an uncommon degree : so that of none, 
could it be more truly said, that he was " thoroughly 
furnished, unto every good work." His life was a Com- 
mentary upon his preaching. Witness his strong and un- 
wavering trust in God, He preached the doctrine to oth- 
ers ; and was governed by its power. He believed that 
God would have a special care of him, and of all who 
trusted in Him. 

"About the year 1814," writes one, " during the war 
with Great Britain, the British had taken Eastport and 
Castine ; and some vessels of war, were off Portland 
harbor, and the people, were greatly alarmed. Many of 
the inhabitants moved their effects into the country. Dr. 
Payson then lived in a most exposed situation, by the 
water, and yet was unusually devoid of fear. Speaking 
on the subject, in some company, at the time, he observed 
that " if we knew that an excellent brother had com- 
mand of the enemy's fleet, and had a right to do as he 
pleased, we should not feel any alarm, and if we believed 
that Christ was our Savior, and that He had the sever- 



304 RECOLLECTIONS OE PAYSON. 

eign disposal of all things, we should feel safe. The 
enemy made no attack upon the place." 

We recollect that Dr. P. about this time, preached to his 
people, from the text, Isaiah, 37 : 33. '^ Therefore thus 
saith the Lord, concerning the king of Assyria, he shall 
not come into the city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor 
come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. 
By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, 
and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord." It 
were not to exalt his piety or his faith, too much, to 
attribute the preservation of the place from the threaten- 
ing foe, to the prayers of Dr. Payson, for '*he was 
mighty with God, and prevailed." Many remarkable 
events daring his ministry, were made the subject of his 
pulpit discourses, and turned to good account. He was 
always on the alert to make some good impression on 
the minds of his people, by appropriate notices and 
reflections upon God's providential dealings'. His pray- 
ers, especially on such occasions, were such as to excite 
the admiration of all who listened to them. 

He was not favorable to the declaration of the " war 
of 1812," yet it furnished him v/ith opportunities for the 
exercise of his faith, and the development of his remark- 
able powers of mind. The prayer he offered at the 
interment of the officers of the Boxer and Enterprise, 
which has been mentioned, is spoken of with admiration, 
to this day. It was doubted by some at the time, wheth- 
er he could have been willing to officiate, (peace man as 
was,) on that occasion. But where duty called, and an 
opportunity offered for usefulness, he knew nothing of 
war-measures or war-makers. The occasion command- 
ed his attention, and his services. God might be hon- 
ored, and souls saved, through his instrumentality. In 



EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 305 

time of war or peace, in a sec^son of stagnation of com- 
merce, or the reverse, sick, or in health, he always found 
opportunity to do good. He sought opportunities. Not 
officious, or self-seeking, yet always prepared and ready, 
and equal to any occasion where his services were want- 
ed. See him at the cell of the wretched prisoner, who 
was shortly to expiate his crimes under the hands of the 
executioner, with words of instruction upon his lips. See 
him visiting the sick and the wretched, everywhere ; car- 
rying out, and endorsing the principles during the week " 
which he taught his people on the sabbath. 

I took him with me, said a surgeon, to the com- 
piler, to the room, to pray and converse with the poor 
wounded midshipman Waters, of the city of Washing- 
ton, who was on board the Enterprise, in tbe engagement 
off Portland ; the wound being such, that faint expecta- 
tions were indulged respecting his recovery. Our infor- 
mant repeated some of the prayer that Dr. Payson offer- 
ed on the occasion, and the manner in which he prayed ; 
it was so humble, sympathising, and appropriate to his 
condition, that the noble hearted youth, (and he was 
such, for we afterwards became acquainted with him,) 
was melted into tears. *' You will call again sir, will 
you not," said the sufferer, so deeply impressed had ho 
become with Dr. Payson's prayer and conversation. A , 
monument, however, was soon to mark the spot of his 
sepulture, in the cemetery on Munjoy, near by which^ 
stands the. tomb of Payson, 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

Difference in religious opinions less a hindrance to ministerial ex- 
changes now, than formerly— A word respecting different 
denominations — The white flag — Occasions in Dr Payson's 
ministry, which called for his conscientious straight-forward- 
ness — Rev. Dr. Nichols' ordination— Mr. Payson's dissent from 
the opinions of the council — Mr. Willis' remarks on the sub- 
ject — Mr. Willis' high eulogum on Dr. P. — His act of dismiss- 
ing the people without the usual benediction explained and de- 
fended — Anecdote touching this subject, of the Rev. Mr. Flavel 
— His leaving the Conference room abruptly, noticed and ex- 
plained—He did not possess an overbearing spirit. 

The difTerence in religious views does not now, as in 
Dr. Payson's days, place so far asunder the friends of 
evangelical truth. The reformatory character of the 
present age renders it expedient for ministers of all de- 
nominations frequently to unite on public occasions to 
sustain the war against the common enemy. Nor can 
it be regretted that there is now a more cordial unanimi- 
ty among the professors of spiritual Christianity than 
formerly. The grounds of difference in opinion, especi- 
ally in regard to doctrine, will doubtless continue to ex- 
ist, and from the nature of the case always must, until in 
those matters the watchman are brought to " see eye to 
eye." 

The Congregationalists cannot believe that their Meth- 
odist and Free-will brethren do quite come up to the stand- 
ard of Orthodoxy. The Baptists agreeing with us on all 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 307 

points, save one, have the same trouble with us, as we 
had with the first named orders ; so they left us — not 
only for the doctrine's sake, but to enjoy what they sup- 
posed a more simple and spiritual mode of worship ; an 
argument of some weight, taking into consideration the 
lukewarmness, if not error in doctrine, which prevailed 
in many of the Congregational churches of that time. 
It cannot be concealed that there was much sensitiveness 
on the part of the *' standing order " of that day, when 
they found many of their people going over to other 
christian organizations, tacitly casting reproach, as it was 
then considered, upon the religion of our forefathers. 
Thereby, feelings, inimical to the peace of the general 
church were engendered ; which in some cases led to 
unfriendly remarks, if not to open ruptures. 

A compromise, however, has been effected, and the 
" white flag " is now seen going back and forth between 
these churches, while their several incumbents when in 
each others' pulpit, understand that as a matter of min- 
isterial etiquette and good faith, no sentiments are to be 
advanced, about which they conscientiously differ ; and 
their judgment being like their watches, although none go 
just alike, yet each believes his own. 

Dr. Payson's straight forwardness^ and decision of 
character, 

"For this was all thy care, 

To stand approv'd of God, though worlds 

Judg'd thee perverse." Milton. 

In whatever related to his public ministry he manifest- 
ed an amiable independence of mind and purity of con- 
science. He would not disdain a track, because the 
footprint of others was seen upon it, yet where the chiet 



308 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

responsibility of any particular course to be pursued 
rested upon himself, his appeal must be to a higher stand- 
ard than man's. 

It would be arrogance in Dr. Pa3^son's friends to claim 
for him an entire freedom from error in faith or in con- 
duct or to suppose that nothing he had done or said might 
not have been better left undone or unspoken. This granted 
we think we are justified in asserting that no particular 
course of a public nature, which he adopted, is deserv- 
ing of rebuke, has left a stain upon his character or min- 
istry. 

There were emergencies in his life, in which an oppor- 
tunity was afforded to test his moral courage, and fidelity, 
in defending what appeared to him, as the true Gospel of 
Christ. Nor was he actuated by a principle of big- 
otry, or blind zeal, but was governed by an unfaltering 
regard to his duty, as one '^set for the defense of the 
Gospel." 

His was a moral heroism of rare happening, deserving 
not rebuke, but rather the highest commendation. It did 
not result from nervousness, but arose from the deduc- 
tions of a '-sound mind." and we think, under the guid- 
ance of the Holy Spirit ; an influence which no man 
more highly valued or obeyed. 

The course he pursued in what we are now about to 
relate, has by enemies and perhaps friends, been attrib- 
uted to his ''infirmities," or to bigotry, but it was not the 
result of either ; not error in judgment even, nor nerv- 
ous irritability, nor any unjustifiable motive, but a su- 
preme and conscientious regard to truth and his ordina- 
tion vows. 

It is not from any wish on the part of the writer, in 
adverting to these transactions to awaken feelings that may 



EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOjST. 309 

have long slept, touching the course which Dr. Payson 
took relative to the ordination of Dr. Nichols ; but as Mr. 
Willis, in his history of Portland, has gone minutely into 
the subject, there can be no valid objection to a statement 
of the matter in the light in which Dr. Payson's friends 
have viewed and do still view it. We think justice re- 
quires that Dr. Payson's course in this matter should be 
so represented, that instead of being judged worthy of 
blame, he should be not only exonerated but commended 
for his conscientious and independent course. In a free 
country, like other men, he had a right to pursue the 
course he did in this matter, sustained as he felt himself 
to be by conscience and the word of God. In others, 
perhaps, of less tenderness of conscience, or having a 
different view of the subject, they mgiht have led to a dif- 
ferent course. He felt that to his own master he stood or 
fell. 

Dr. Cummings in the ''Mirror," has alluded to this af- 
fair, and has introduced extracts from Dr. Payson's let- 
ters which refer to it. We see in these extracts, the 
truly faithful, cross-bearing, conscientious minister, who 
would do right whatever might be the result ; who could 
not do otherwise, without sacrificing principle, and thus 
proving recreant to his Master. But is it said his pop- 
ularity or his usefulness was at stake, in this matter of 
non-compliance. So, we say, was the peace of his soul 
at stake. A compliance would have doubtless gained the 
favor of many ; but he loved not the praise of men more 
than the praise of God, and the tones of that voice from 
a venerable father's lips, had scarcely ceased to vibrate 
upon his ear, which on his ordination day, said to him, 
"Lay hands suddenly on no man." 

Dr. Payson was invited to sit with the council to or- 



310 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOJST. 

dain Rev. I. Nichols, a Unitarian minister, over the First 
Parish in Portland, as colleague with the Rev. Dr. Deane. 
He had reason to believe that the religious sentiments of 
Mr. Nichols, were antagonistic to his own, and that 
therefore, there could be no ministerial fellowship be- 
tween them. Viewing this difference of sentiment as of 
paramount importance, he felt it his duty, when called 
upon to express his views, in council, with respect to 
ordaining the candidate, to vote against the ordination. 

With very high respect for the Pastor and people of 
which we are now speaking, yet we conceive that the 
stand which Dr. P. took, was no more worthy of censure 
than were the successions from that church which after- 
wards took place, by several of its most respectable 
members, on account of its religious creed. 

In the latter case, there was a disposition to withdraw 
from covenanted obligations, for conscience' sake : in the 
former it was a withholding of ministerial fellowship, from 
the same principles : a course which in both cases, must 
meet the approval of an enlightened and impartial judg- 
ment. We are happy in being able to quote Mr. Willis 
on the subject, for other reasons, than his candor and 
impartiality as a Historian. 

" Mr. Payson," remarks Mr. Willis, '' refused to ex- 
tend to Mr. Nichols the right hand of fellowship, for the 
examination of the candidate was not satisfactory to Mr. 
P., and with the different views of the parties, on the 
controverted points of Theology, which were then deem- 
ed so vital by Mr. Payson, it could not be satisfactory to 
him.'^ 

"He therefore, alone, of all the members present, re- 
fused his approbation of the candidate, and declined any 
part in the ordination." 



EECOLLECTIONS OE PAYSON. 311 

" We believe," continues Mr. Willis, ^' he acted con- 
scientiously, whatever may be thought of the wisdom or 
the charity of his conclusion." Further, Mr. W. adds, 
and with much candor, " the course taken by Mr. P. was 
an independent one, and required great firmness of mind 
to resist the pressure for conciliation, which generally 
prevailed, and to encounter the obloquy which his soli- 
tary opposition would necessarily bring upon him, in a 
case so clearly unexceptionable, in every point, except 
dogmatic theology." "But," continues the same writer, 
"that was a time when a sharp and severe controversy 
was commencing, and the passions of those entering into 
the contest, were highly excited. We trust that the spirit 
of the Great Teacher and Master is gaining the ascend- 
ency." He concludes by a high eulogum upon Dr. Pay- 
son. • "He became one of the most popular and effective 
preachers of the day. To a deep religious feeling, he 
added an ardent and excited imagination, which gave a 
wonderful power to his ministrations, and drew around 
him a larger congregation and church, than had ever been 
gathered in New England to the stated services of the 
Temple. The cold and hardened were aroused, the in- 
different animated, and every one who listened to him 
was persuaded to be, if not altogether, at least almost a 
christian. He possessed a wonderful influence over the 
passions of men, which he swayed almost at will ; and 
what is most singular, his own heart was suffering all the 
while from the most sad and fearful doubts and forebod- 
ings, as to his own spiritual condition."* 

* We believe that Mr Willis labors under a mistake here. As 
far as we can learn, Dr. P., though encompassed with infirmities, 
which he mourned over, together with a deep sense of his inbred 
corruptions, never gave up his hope of his interest in the ever- 
lasting and unchangeable covenant of Jehovah. 



312 RECOLLECTIOXS OF PATSON. 

In connection with the same subject, we add a note 
from the Rev. Dr. Deane, senior pastor of the First 
church, to one of his deacons, and which Mr. Willis has 
inserted in his book, accompanied by his own remarks. 
It relates to Rev. John Codman, who had been supplying 
at the First Parish for a few sabbaths as a candidate, just 
before Mr. Nichols. 

" Mr. Codman," writes Dr. Deane, " is greatly ad- 
mired by many. He is orthodox and ingenious, and I 
think very generally admired." Says the historian, "It 
was voted not to call him. Cause of rejection, was Jiis 
religious tenets:' Adds Mr. W., '' the distinction was 
coming to be made between the two religious parties, 
which divide the congregational denomination. The old- 
fashioned Arminianism and liberal Calvinism v/erc ripen- 
ing into Unitarianism, and orthodoxy was taking a more 
decided and exclusive type, and standing distinctly and 
firmly upon its own peculiar platform- Mr. Payson had 
a large share in giving distinctness and severity to this 
line of separation." Thus far Mr. Willis is to be more 
highly appreciated.* 

The high compliment herein paid to Dr. Payson's 
character for preaching and talents and constienciousness 
is exceedingly gratifying to record ; manifesting as it 
does, so entire an absence of narrow and partial feelings 
on the part of the writer. 

^It is from no insidious, querulous or meddlesome spirit, that we 
refer to tliis ecclesiastical procedure, but for reasons which are 
akin to those which influenced the mind of the historian just re- 
ferred to. It is with the most profound respect that we recognize 
in those persons who took a promuient part in the affairs of that 
religious society ; men in the different professions, and of great 
worth ; men who have filled some of the most honorable stations 
in the community, and whose names are associated with whatever 
is honorable and amiable in human character. 



REOOLLECTIOxNS OE rAYSO:?T. 313 

We admire, also, the accuracy and the candor which 
acknowledges and explains the difference between Or- 
thodoxy and Unitarianism ; and which thereby justifies 
Dr. Payson in drawing a line of demarcation so closely 
between these two systems, that must effectually coun- 
teract the opinion so frequently expressed, that there is 
no essential difference in the sentiments of the two sects. 

In the above extract, a difference of opinion is explicit- 
ly avowed, and under the cover of this acknowledgment, 
we shall feel safe in maintaining our ground for consist- 
ency and truth, in always having declared this difference, 
and thereby defending our conduct, when we have 
" contended peaceably, yet earnestly, for what we believe 
to be the faith once delivered to the saints.'' 

And with this public acknowledgment of the difference 
between us, we see not as they can be justly charged with 
bigotry and uncharitableness, who as ministers of the 
Trinitarian and Calvinistic faith, from conscientious mo- 
tives, refuse fellowship with those, who by their own 
showing, view the doctrines of their opponents as absurd 
or blasphemous. 

If this be a just conclusion, and this wide difference be- 
tween the two parties does exist, then the censure under 
which Dr. Payson has been supposed to lie for refusing 
to lay hands of ordination upon the candidate, however 
talented and respected and amiable, as we acknowledge 
him to be, who preached, if not '^another gospel," yet a 
very different one, is alike unjust and indefensible. 

In the foregoing extracts, relating to Rev. Mr. Codman, 
a pretty full disclosure, we think, is therein made, re- 
specting the religious tenets of the First Church ; a large 
majority being opposed to hearing such doctrines as Rev. 

Mr. Codman preached. ^ 

14 



314 RECOLLECTIOXS OF PAYSOIST. 

That venerable and respectable church, like every oth- 
er, had an unquestionable right to be governed in their 
election of a candidate, by a regard to his religious sen- 
tinnents. The same privilege is all we ask. And if the 
Unitarian churches can have no fellowship with our pe- 
culiar doctrines, then according to the '^ golden rule," 
they will certainly allow us the same liberty. 

The act of his once dismissing the congregation on 
communion-day, by pronouncing what may have been 
called the apostolic malediction, " If any man love 
not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema mara- 
natha," was considered by many, and even some of his 
best friends, as an injudicious step. It led to some unhap- 
py ^Jesuits. Yet Dr.P. stated, publicly, we think that the act 
was not a hasty one ; but that the subject had long been 
under consideration by him, and although the soundness 
of his judgment, in this case, may by some be called in 
question, yet we are not willing to consider it as an un- 
' justifiable step. 

The revelations of eternity may disclose some i-ery 
important result that followed that procedure, which will 
entirely satisfy us, that the man of God, not only obey- 
ed the dictates of a good conscience, but performed an 
act in accordance v/ith the righteous purposes of God, 
which may have resulted in the salvation of some sinner. 
If so, how v/rong to attribute this singular proceeding to 
nervous excitability, or any other equally improbable or 
ungenerous cause or motive. 

The experiment, however, it may be remarked, he did 
not deem proper to repeat. 

Probably the principle on which this transaction was 
based, was the conviction, that he "could not bless, whom 



I 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 315 

the Lord had not blessed," or pronounce a blessing upon 
those who were about to leave the Lord's table, in des- 
pite of the Savior's solemn command, " This do in 
remembrance of me." 

To let the congregation, on sacramental occasions, 
retire without a formal dismission, the course, I think, 
which he subsequently adopted, thus complying with 
Balak's directions to Balaam, " Neither bless them at all, 
nor curse them at all," may be considered as more 
advisable. 

The fact that he never repeated the experiment, does 
not prove that he judged it wrong in the first trial. He 
might have considered that all his contemplated ends had 
been answered, and that a repetition was unnecessary. 

Offence, however, was taken by a very few present, 
who from that time left the parish. This was to be re- 
gretted, as they were among those of the most respecta- 
ble character. 

Notwithstanding, their house of worship was crowded, 
large as it was, and such was the " rush" to enjoy the ben- 
efits of his preaching, that it had to be considerably enlar- 
ged. If this procedure were a fault in their minister 
his people viewed it as a small thing, compared with the 
general excellencies of his character. They found no 
difficulty in casting the mantle of charity over it. 

The following anecdote came to hand after the above 
remarks were penned. 

The excellent John Flavel, minister of Dartmouth, 
Eng., once preached from these words ; '' If any man 
love not our Lord Jesus Christ, &c." The discourse 
was unusually solemn, particularly the explanation of the 
curse. At the conclusion, when Mr. Flavel was about to 
pronounce the blessing, he paused and said, how shall 1 



I 



316 RCOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

bless this whole assembly, when every person in it, who 
loves not our Lord Jesus, is Anathema Maranatha. The 
solemnity of this address, deeply affected the audience. 
In the congregation, there was a lad, named John Short, 
about 15 years of age, and a native of Dartmouth. Soon 
after, he went to sea, and sailed to America, where he 
passed the rest of his life. He lived till he was a " sin- 
ner, a hundred years old," and ready to '* die accursed." 

One day his memory fixed on Mr. Flavel's sermon. 
The earnestness of the minister, the truths spoken, the 
effect on the people, all came fresh to his mind. He 
felt that he had not loved the Lord Jesus ; he feared the 
dreadful anathema, or curse ; he was deeply convinced 
of sin, and was brought to the " blood of sprinkling." 
He lived, to give every evidence of being born again. 
Thus the truth lay in his heart, though forgotten, nearly 
an hundred years, and after that time, sprang up unto 
everlasting life. 

And this same text, the utterance of which gave 
so much offence to some of Dr. Payson's hearers, and 
which was deemed injudicious at the time, by some 
of them ; who knows but it may prove equally effica- 
cious in the hands of the Spirit, though many years shall 
intervene, in bringing to the remembrance of some 
who were present on that occasion, the solemn transac- 
tion, and thus prove as an arrow from the quiver of the 
Almighty, in their case, as it proved to him that was con- 
verted, after the lapse of a hundred years. 

And yet, in how many instances, does the faithful 
preacher become " a savor of death unto death." Of 
Dr P. it might be said, as of his great Master, " He is 
set for the fall^ as well as for the rising again, of many 
in ferael." This consideration often makes the heart of 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 317 

the minister sad ; that his preaching will probably be the 
innocent occasion, of the aggravated ruin of some of his 
hearers. " Yet I must weep, where most I love." 
This consideration just spoken of doubtless operates as a 
motive with some, to absent themselves from the house of 
worship, that they might escape the truth, or the sore pun- 
ishment of hearing and rejecting it. An occasional 
hearer at Dr. Payson's church, had become much awak- 
ened in his mind, who found he must either submit to 
the demands of God, repent, and lead a holy life, or at- 
tempt to drive off his convictions. There was no alterna- 
ative, for peace had departed from him. He preferred the 
latter method. He left the meeting, and his convictions 
left Aim. Said he ^^ I made a desperate efforV to shake 
off conviction, in which it is to be feared he too fatally 
succeeded. Such an act of desperate revenge upon the 
truth, and upon conscience, and God's Spirit, is doubtless 
often perpetrated : repaid too, with awful retributions, in 
this world and the next. Many would do well to remem- 
ber Saul's fears and wretched end — as he exclaims — 
" The Philistines are upon me, and God has departed 
from me, and answereth me no more." 
, No one will accuse us of *' setting down aught in mal- 
ice, nor shall we in the following remarks give room for 
the charge of having "extenuated aught.'' The readers of 
the "Memoir," will remember an instance there recorded 
of Dr. P.'s once leaving the conference room somewhat 
abruptly. His course has been censured, as betraying an 
improper spirit. It has somewhat such an aspect, yet we 
think it is not to be remembered with feelings of unmiti- 
gated condemnation. 

Who, that was acquainted with Dr. Payson's keen 
sense of christian duty and obligation ; the deep inter- 



318 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

est he felt in the spmtual prosperity of his church ; and 
how jealous for the honor of God, can wonder, that wit- 
nessing the scanty number present, and their apparent 
apathy ; he himself, fresh from his closet with some im- 
portant subject upon his mind to communicate for their 
benefit ; his anticipations of a good meeting, all suddenly 
destroyed ; I say, in view of all this, who can wonder 
much at his abrupt departure from the meeting. We say 
not that he was right in this matter. Yet may not his 
course be regarded as somewhat analogous to that of the 
Savior, when, on a certain occasion, he looked round 
upon them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of 
their hearts ; or that of Moses, when he descended from 
the mount and expressed his indignation towards those 
who, during his absence, had made a golden calf to wor- 
ship. 

Peradventure some worldly scheme of profit or pleas- 
ure had detained his flock from the place of prayer. In 
God's sight, and as his minister, and with the feelings of 
a man as well as a minister, combined, might he not be 
justified in this impressive and open rebuke. He did not 
stop at the meeting, to scold or to weep, as some would 
have done, but took, perhaps, a more effectual method, 
by silently withdrawing, and to his people, doubtless, it 
proved a more efficacious remedy for the evil than any 
that could have been adopted. If such were his aim, and 
they so understood it, the act must have been an arrow 
more sharply-pointed than any other which he could have 
prepared for their consciences. 

He probably returned to his closet, to weep and to 
pray, as Moses did on one occasion and Elijah on an- 
other. The consciences of the delinquent members 
may have been awakened by this rebuke, and ultimate- 



EECOLLECTIONS OE PAYSON. 319 

ly good might have been the result ; yet there might 
have been a mixture of sin and infirmity in the pastor 
as well as in the church. 

Dr. Payson records the transaction in his diary ; for 
what special purpose it does not appear. This act of his 
has been set down to the account of " nervousness." 
We are willing that it should be thus accounted for, rath- 
er than that it should be attributed to sinful impatience. 

It is said that the human stomach may become so inert 
that some extra-powerful stimulant is necessary to be 
given, to quicken its susceptibilities, before ordinary 
medicine will produce any effect. It is often that the dis- 
eased state of the soul requires some heavy judgment or 
some pointed rebuke, to quicken its dormant sensibilities 
before ordinary means will prove of any benefit. 

Dr. P. may have been censured as manifesting an over- 
bearing and domineering spirit among his brethien in the 
ministry, and over his own church. These surmisings 
must have been the fruit of malice or envy, and deserve 
an unqualified condemnation. As a regularly ordained 
pastor, he contended, or asked, only for the prerogatives 
of his ofHce, as recognized by the ancient congregational 
platform, and as in accordance with apostolic directions. 
As it respected himself, in his private capacity, he 
cared nothing for precedence or power. lie claimed 
only that which the Bible and his office awarded him. 

He possessed a remarkably forbearing and receding 
spirit, yet he saw that the peace and prosperity, yea the 
very existence of the church, required that the ojfice of 
the pastor be respected, and its rights maintained ; an of- 
fice appointed by divine wisdom for the good of the 
church, its incumbents being made " overseers by the 
Holy Ghost." He modestly claimed the respect of the 



320 RECOLLECTIONS OE PAYSON. 

office, when acting as Christ's authorized servant. 
" Christ gave some — pastors and teachers ; " and his 
authority in them is to be suitably recognized. 

His people also, were the farthest possible from wish- 
ing to withold or to dispute the deference belonging to 
the ministerial office. Doubtless they were willing to 
yield more, even, than he demanded. They could see 
that he wished to assume no authority that did not grow 
out of the solemn relation of pastor and people, as insti- 
tuted by the Great Head of the Church. 

They saw that his noblest sympathies were with them, 
and that to promote their highest spiritual and eternal 
welfare was the object of his benevolent and unfaltering 
endeavors. 

If his character in this respect, has been aspersed, it 
must have been by the instigation of the green-eyed 
monster, or from enmity to the cross. He was far 
Enough from indulging a spirit of self-exaltation ; of all 
men, he should be the last to be suspected of that. 

Should it be inquired, ^' was there no offset to his 
rare excellencies of character, not publicly known ?" 
we answer, that dwelling in a house of clay, akin to 
worms, ourselves of the same humble origin, we would 
not pronounce him immaculate. And yet it is easy to 
conceive that towards a man of his talents, and young and 
coming into a neighborhood of more elderly brethren 
and fathers in the ministry, there might have been 
awakened a spirit of jealousy, if nothing worse, in 
the bosoms of some. Yet if fame and popularity 
would come^ unsought^ how could he help that 7 and 
wherein was he to blame ? If the ardent and con- 
sistent piety and zeal which he possessed, God had 
seen fit to employ to wake up the sleeping consciences of 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOJSf. 321 

the community around him, whether ministers or people, 
wherein was he to blame for that ? 

He rode, indeed, upon a high-wrought wave, a stormy 
sea, and danger was all around him ; yet he weathered 
the blast which has proved ^so disastrous in many cases. 
His body frail, a shattered bark, yet his spirit remained 
unbroken ; the ocean did not engulf it, nor was it wrecked 
by the roaring surge ; his long-sought haven he beheld 
with transport, and entered it — no voyager more triumph- 
antly. 

Doubtless the path he struck out for himself, or rather 
which God had opened before him, on his entrance upon 
the ministry, might have been too brilliant or elevated for 
less ardeni minds than Dr. Payson'^s, to have held or pur- 
sued ; or for some cause, his manifested zeal might have 
occasioned doubt as to its utility, in the minds of those 
not of a kindred stamp with the young minister. Nor 
should we wonder if his zeal provoked very many, in a 
sense different from the Apostle's meaning. The wisdom 
of his course, in some respects, may have been disputed 
by less discerning or over-cautious minds, and his mo- 
tives misconstrued and misunderstood, when a candid 
and sound judgment would have pronounced a very dif- 
ferent verdict, 

14* 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Would Dr. Payson have been a "reformer," as the term is identi- 
fied with the present age ? — Strictly conservative, yet not averse 
to modern improvements — The so-called "sixty-nine Society" 
in IS 15 — Peace Society— The first establishment of Sabbath 
Schools in Portland — He stood aloof from political struggles- 
Remarks of others on this subject — Letters from several indi- 
viduals respecting Dr. Payson and his ministry — One from Dr. 
P. to the compiler. 

Notvv^ithstandlng his great regard for the morals of the 
community, his strict conservatism would have forbidden 
him either to " hold or drive" in running the ploughshare 
over the well-fenced and cultivated fields, planted by the 
hands of our fathers.* 

He would have looked with a suspicious eye upon new 
organizations, whose object vv^as to supplant or render ob- 
solete others more ancient, especially if such innovations 
bore unfavorably upon the church. "Zion, the perfection 
of beauty" in God's account, was so in his. Yet it has 
been shown that when duty called he was not backward 

*" We do not mean," says an American E-eviewer, "to retard 
improvement : revolution must not be confounded with reform : 
nations, as well as individuals, have the right to remedy evils ; yet 
there is great difficulty in fixing the barrier, in drawing the line, 
that divides the progress of good, and the commencement of its 
opposite; for %v here things are at the mercy of men ^ and not of 
principles^ it is impossible to foresee how^ far they may be borne 
on, by the heady impetuosity of passion." 



BEGOLLSCTIONS OE PAYsON. 323 

in all suitable ways, to lend his personal influence in sup- 
pressing immorality in all its forms. 

From political contests, he stood aloof, from an intui- 
tive moral delicacy, and religious principle. He viewed 
such an interference, as being entirely at variance with 
his profession. 

Says an excellent writer, on this subject : " There is a 
subUme spirit in a devoted minister, which, as one says 
of Christianity itself, pays no more regard to these 
things, than to the battles of rooks, the industry of ants, 
or the policy of bees. The men of the world know 
when a minister is out of his place ; when they can op- 
press him by numbers, or circumstances ; when they can 
make him laugh, when his office frowns. It is one thing 
to be humble and condescending, another, to render 
yourself cheap and contemptible." 

As a consistent christian minister, lie would not thus let 
himself down. In common right with other citizens. Dr. 
P. doubtless cherished his own political views, yet nei- 
ther policy or propriety, demanded a public avowal of 
them. We think he seldom, if ever, went to ihe polls ; 
yet would it be a libel upon his character, to accuse 
him as deficient in the noblest patriotism, or a regard of 
the purest kind, for the happiness of his fellow men. 

He was one of the number who assisted in organizing 
the " Peace Society " in Portland. We remember to 
have accompanied him to the meeting. On the way 
thither, we offered some remarks as to the expediency 
of such an institution. Said Dr. Payson, '' we cannot 
foresee unto what this feeble beginning may grow." 

We have not indeed, yet seen any very mighty results 
from thi) organization of Peace Societies, yet we know 
not how much influence they may have hacTin stilling the 



324 KECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSOK. 

warlike elements of man's natural character ; or how 
much they are yet destined under Providence, to do. 
The " little leaven may yet leaven the whole lump." 
The high-minded originator, or at least, indefatigable pro- 
moter, of this noble enterprise, who devoted talent, and 
time, and wealth, and his life even, in advancing this ob- 
ject, so dear to his heart, (Capt. Ladd, of Maine,) sleeps 
in his peaceful grave, yet his noble achievements in the 
cause, can no more be lost, than they can be forgotten. 
Dr. Payson was present, and officiated at the opening 
of the first sabbath school in Portland. His remarks on 
the occasion, were blessed to the awakening of a }outb, 
who, in after life, when about to make a public profession 
of religion, twenty years afterwards, referred to this cir- 
cumstance. 

The first onset upon intemperance and kindred im- 
moralities, made in Portland, and perhaps in Maine, was 
commenced by a phalanx of moral heroes, comprising 
many of the most respectable citizens, with whose names 
stands that of Edward Payson. Although at that time, 
such an undertaking was at the hazard of any man's 
popularity, yet these men rallied, and unflinchingly lifted 
high their standard, and did valiantly. This was doubt- 
less, the beginning of an enterprise which in our land and 
in the world at large, ranks among the most efficient mea- 
sures of moral reform. There was but little secresy or 
bluster in their movements. The noise and tumult were 
all on the side of their opponents. These men and mea- 
ures were then, and have since been misjudged and ridi- 
culed, yet posterity well approve their doings. The 
names of those men, and their achievments, will be me- 
morialized with increasing honor, as the cause they 
sought to promote becomes more and more appreciated, 



EECOLLECTIONS OE PAYSON. 325 

and identified with the prosperity of our country, and the 
temporal salvation of the world.* 

Dr. P. noticed the irregularities in the community, and 
preached against out-breaking sins with sufficient point 
and frequency; exposing with masterly skill and un- 
flinching boldness, the depravity of man's heart, as the 
source of all wickedness. His sermons speak loudly to 
this fact. In his preaching, he would *'lay the axe to 
the root of the tree.'' A complaint being once made to 
him, that dancing had been introduced among his people, 
he replied, " if grace comes into the heart, it will keep 
the heels still/' He choose rather to be like the physician 
who aims not to remove the coat from the fevered tongue 
of the patient, except by eradicating the disease which has 



*This little germ was planted in 1816, at the Quaker meeting- 
house. Sixty nine names were pledged for its support. Hence 
its name. The prayers of as many hearts were offered for its 
prosperity on the spot. The shoot grew, and notwithstanding the 
adverse influences with which it was surrounded, bore fruit It 
was, however, in the estimation of many, an unsightly tree. 
The eyes of many were averted from it. Malice, combined with 
self-interest, v/ouid have uprootedit. The popular storm would 
have destroyed it root and branch. Yet it withstood the fury of 
the blast. It still lives. The stock remains, substantially in those 
men of strong temperance principles who yet survive. Upon this 
stock, scion after scion has been grafted, from which fruit has been 
gathered. The fruit has been much improved through the zealous 
and indefatigable labors of one, who in dressing and pruning and 
defending it, has proved himself a most devoted friend to its pros- 
perity He has more recently furnished a scion, which has been 
rapid and healthy in its growth, bidding fair to over-top the sur- 
rounding branches. It has attracted the attention and secured the 
admiration of our own land and other lands. Seedlings fiom its 
fruit are now seen every v/here springing up. It is a hardy tree, 
bearing excellent fruit ; pleasant to the taste of the unvitiated ; 
conducive to health in a high degree ; abounding with more than 
"twelve manner of virtues," which are for the heaUng of the na- 
tions." To drop the figure, the ^'' Maine Lav)" is this " plant of 
renown ;" its originator and propagator, Ncal Dow, Esq. of Fort- 
land. 



326 RECOLLECTIONS OF PATSON. 

produced it^ and who would have his pulse beat right by 
means adapted to allay the inward fever. 

Dr. Chalmers recommends a course in accordance with 
the above views. 

r-- When he was about to leave his charge at Kilmarny 
for Glasgow, he made the following statement : 

'* Here I cannot but record the effeet ot an actual, 
though undesigned experiment, -wkich I prosecuted for 
ihe ..v-t twelve years among you. For the greater part 
o( that time, I could expatiate on all those deformities of 
character which awaken the natural indignation of the 
human heart against the pests and the disturbers of hu- 
man society. The interesting fact is, that during the 
whole of that period in which 1 made no attempt against 
the natural enmity of the mind to God, while I was inat- 
tentive to the way in which this enmity is dissolved, even 
by the free offer on the one hand, and the free acceptance 
on the other, of the gospel salvation, while Christ, through 
whose blood the sinner, who by nature stands afar off, is 
brought near to the Heavenly Lawgiver, whom he has 
offended, was scarcely ever spoken — even at this time, I 
certainly did press reformations of every kind among my 
people. But I never 07ice heard of aiiy such reformations 
having been effected among them. If there was any thing 
at all brought about in this \vay, it was more than ever I 
got any account of. I am not sensible that all the vehe- 
mence with which I urged the virtues and the proprieties 
of social life, had the weight of a feather on the moral 
habits of my parishioners. And it was not till I got im- 
pressed by the utter alienation of the heart in all its de- 
sires and affections from God — it was not till reconcilia- 
tion to him^became the distinct and prominent object of 
my ministerial exertions — it^was not till I took the scrip- 



EECOLLECTIONS OE PAl'SON. 327 

tural way of laying the method of reconciliation before 
them — it was not till the free offer of forgiveness through 
the blood of Christ was urged upon their acceptance, and 
the Holy Spirit was set before them as the unceasing ob- 
ject of their dependence and their prayers, that I ever 
heard of any of those subordinate reformations, which I 
aforetime made the earnest, but I am afraid the ultimate 
object of my earlier ministrations. You have taught me 
that to preach Christ is the only effective way of preach- 
ing morality in all its branches, "^"^ 

Yet, may we be permitted to remark that in the great 
work of the Temperance and other reforms, is it not a 
matter of surprise and of regret, that with all the com- 
mendable pains-taking to remove the deadly moral evils, 
viz : the slavery of alcohol, and of the servitude of the 
southern slave ; that there has not been a deeper sym- 
pathy manifested for i\iQ spiritual how^digQ in which the 
soul is held by sin and Satan, which, if not removed, 
will have an issue more fearful than any temporal calami- 
ty. While the reformed inebriate boasts of one enemy 
slain, and one avenue closed, should he dream of safety, 
while there are other openings to the citadel of hie 
vital peace, which unguarded, may admit the enemy in 
some other guise, which shall as fatally accomplish the 
ruin of his soul, as would that enemy over which many 
now so laudably triumph. Gladly as we exult in the 
halcyon days of those who have abandoned the death- 
cup forever, and sincerely as we would rejoice with the 
oppressed, could we see them prosperous and happy in 
their freedom, yet we respectfully suggest the above con- 
siderations as worthy of the notice of all true philanthro- 
pists. 

Had the life of Payson been protracted through the 



328 RECOLLECTIOKS OF PAYSON. 

last twenty years of agitation and reform, we are of the 
opinion that he would not have deviated materially from 
the track he had commenced and so steadily pursued. 

He would have been slow in adopting any course that 
would be hazardous to the blessings of established and 
successful experiment, by exchanging the principles of a 
true and tried philosophy, for the crude and problematical 
innovations, which have so frequently exploded in smoke 
or something worse. 

Yet, nothing that suggested improvement would have 
been overlooked by him ; or v^hen a verdict from any res- 
pectable source, had been rendered, favorable to proposed 
improvements, would he have wantonly disregarded it. 

The introduction of controverted subjects, especially 
those having a political bearing, and having a tendency 
to produce '* confusion and every evil work," in a relig- 
ious society, he would have most conscientiously avoided. 

He could not have jeoparded the ^'peace of Jerusalem'' 
for any minor consideration. In the spirit of Nehemiah, 
he did always say, and we think he always would have 
said to all such projectors, ** I am about a great worTc, I 
cannot come down; why should the work cease?'' &c. 
He felt that ministers had before them one grand, specific 
object ; a high and holy trust, never to be compromised 
at the solicitations of friend or foe. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

The following letters, relative to Dr. Payson, have come 
to hand, which we think will be read with interest : 



Writes the Hon. Judge P. to the compiler : — 
"From Oct. 1818 to Oct. 1821, I resided in Portland, 
and attended on the religious services performed in the 
church of which Dr. Payson was pastor. During the 
same period, I was a frequent visitor at his house, and 
study. Such was the impression then made upon me, that 
his manner, and matter of preaching, are still fresh in my 
recollection, though more than thirty years have since 
elapsed. 

In many respects he was a remarkable man. Rarely 
do we find talents, so various, yet powerful, so brilliant, 
yet solid, united with such humble christian zeal, as were 
exhibited by Dr. P. in his public services, and private 
intercourse. Beyond all men I have ever known, he had 
the power of arresting, and confining the attention of his 
hearers, and carrying away a whole congregation, by the 
force of his eloquence. He usually preached half the 
day, extempore, and his extempore sermons were the 
most effective ; but in his most fervid and glowing dis- 
courses, he never lost sight of his high responsibility to 
God, nor sought applause at the expense of truth. He 
never placed the Savior in the back ground ! The most 
humbling, and of course the most offensive doctrines of 



330 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

the Gospel, were those which he most constantly presen- 
ted to his hearers. In his private intercourse, I ever 
found Dr. Payson, cordial and affectionate. When I 
knew him, his constitution was feeble, and his physical 
power seemed inadequate to carry him through his daily 
labor, but when his mind became interested, he rose 
above bodily infirmity, and went nobly through tasks, 
that few could accomplish." J. P. 

The following extract is from a letter received from 
one, who was once a member of Dr. Payson's church, 
and is now a respectable and useful minister in Maine. 

"My last visit to Dr. Payson was but a few days 
before his death. Previous to that, a beloved friend had 
visited him, and spoke in almost raptures, of the happi- 
ness which Dr. P. appeared to feel. '* Why," said she, 
** he seemed like an angeiy As I gazed upon him, I 
could not wonder at the expression. And I thought still 
more of it, and of him, as I took his hand in parting. 

''Give my love," he said, *'to Mrs. S , and tell her 

I am ten times happier than when she last saw me." 

As I took my seat, he asked me about ray state of 
mind. I told him I had not yet obtained relief. ** Well," 
said he, ^^ don't give up, if you die in the struggled 

Mrs. Payson, who was standing at his bedside, stroking 
his forehead, remarked, *' This is a crown worth striving 
for." " Yes, truly," thought I, there is a Heaven, even 

Of Dr. Payson's last days, it would be impossible to 
give an adequate description. How affecting the 
thought, that to the very last, he employed all his 
strength, to do what good he could ! When he was una- 
ble to preach two sermons on the Sabbath, he would 
preach one ; and when he could not do that, he would go 



BECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 331 

from his house, at the close of the afternoon sermon, and 
and make his way to the vestry, near the meeting house 
to conduct his Bible Class, the room crowded with 
eager hearers ; all of whom felt, (as he once said,) that 
'* at any hour, (such was the nature of his disease,) 
he might be taken from them." And when he could no 
longer conduct this exercise, how did he still strive to 
employ his little remaining strength, in his dwelling 
house ! Who that attended, can forget, the private meet- 
ings, appointed for diiFerent classes, at his dying bed ! 

In that eventful closing period of his life, there was, per- 
vading the community, a hallowed influence. The aspect 
and tone of society, had a visible impress, from the life and 
death of that holy man. How almost universal, and how 
frequent, were inquiries about him, throughout the town ! 
How more than ordinarily sacred, seemed that house of 
worship, where he so long, and so faithfully had preached, 
and prayed! Hi^ spirit still seemed to linger there. 
And every voice of [ ublic prayer for him, seemed swelled 
by t'iC united feeJir'gs oi the whole congregation." 

S. T. 



As to your purpose of giving the christian public some 
more specific views of that excellent man, Payson, I most 
heartily bid you *' God speed," in the attempt; for 1 
am persuaded, the great Head of the Church has never 
bestowed a richer gift, in the form of a pastor, even in 
any age of the world, than was Edward Payson. Few 
have walked so closely with God. I thought, while pur- 
suing my theological studies under his instruction, and 
now, after more than 40 years have elapsed since I was 
licensed, I am even deeper in the conviction, that he 
walked more closely with God, than any other man with 



332 RECOLLECTIONS OF PATSON. 

whom I have been acquainted. 1 perfectly accord with a 
christian brother, who once sat under Payson's nainistry, 
as it was your privilege, and mine, to do, that since the 
decease of that good man, there is less appearance of 
spiritual, living Christianity, in that region, than while 
Christianity was seen and felt in his life and ministry. I 
am persuaded, that the more Payson's character, views, 
and lifp, are known, the higher will he stand, in the 
estimation of the wise and good ; and the impression 
which was indelibly left on my mind, will, I am almost 
certain, be left on all who were intimately acquainted 
with him; that he was peculiarly in communion with 
the Father of spirits. And could I contribute my mite 
to make him more known to the present generation^ and 
those who may come after, it would afford me high grati- 
fication. I should think myself well employed, in turn- 
ing the attention of minds darkened by sin, to this hon- 
ored reflector of the Sun of Eighteousness. It is little 
however, that I can contribute at this period, for the 
accomplishment of so desirable an end. 

1 recollect a few of his sayings to myself, in personal 
conversation, which seem to show the man, especially on 
the subject of his confidence in prayer. While engaged 
in my theological studies, I was, on one occasion, specially 
depressed in spirit; in view of my almost entire want of 
qualifications for the great work of the gospel ministry ; 
and I said to him, 'I may as well give up the hope of ever 
being useful in that holy office/ He promptly replied, 
*' pray, brother M., pray ; I should hardly despair [of 
an idiot being useful in the ministry, if he would only 
prayP On another occasion he said, '' If I certainly 
knew, that I needed two such worlds as this, for my own 



i 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON- 333 

private use, I should no more hesitate to ask for them, 
than I should hesitate to ask for my daily bread." 

On the subject of preaching, he once said to me, *' I 
wish in every sermon, to preach so much of the great 
plan of redeeming love, that if an individual hearer 
should enjoy no other means of instruction, he might not 
be lost through want of that instruction ; " and you and 
I well remember, dear sir, how that good man delighted 
to dwell on the great plan of redeeming grace, where 
Christ is the Alpha and Omega ; where His atonement 
by his death, and faith in his blood, stand out in bold 
relief. 

I visited him ^ve days before his upward flight. On 
that occasion he said, " I sicken at the thought of at- 
tempting to describe the glories of heaven. Language 
breaks down under it.'^ Instantly I thought of Paul's 
expression, " a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory.'' This eternal weight of glory, placed upon the 
crazy, feeble carriage of human language, crushes it to a 
wreck." J. G. M. 

The following letter was recently received by the com- 
piler, and speaks for itself. 

'^Having been requested to furnish some particulars of 
the early part of Dr. Payson's ministry — especially as re- 
lating to the effect produced on my own mind, although 
nearly half a century has elapsed since he first came 
among us, and much is forgotten, yet I will endeavor to 
recall some things, which were then so deeply interesting 
to me. Previous to his coming to Portland, I had for 
some two or three years been in a dark and troubled state 
of mind. His preaching and remarks so suited my case, 
that they led me to conclude that he was providentially 



334 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

sent to us for my special benefit, little suspecting at the time 
what an influence he was soon to exert upon almost the 
entire community. For a long time previous I had read 
much in Doddridge's ** Rise and Progress." It was my 
constant companion, almost an oracle in my estimation. 
I was earnestly praying as directed by him (almost using 
his own words) for the pardon of sin, and to be made a 
subject of renewing grace. Even then, I thought myself 
a penitent, and often wondered why I obtained no relief, 
no hope of the pardon of sin. Time passed with little or 
no change in my feelings. Dr. Payson's first labors 
among us soon found me on the border of despair. 

Many among us were anxiously inquiring "what must 
I do to be saved ?" Meetings were appointed to converse 
with the newly awakened. I was present at these meet- 
ings, noi as a professed inquirer^ for in my early youth, I 
had been numbered with God's professing people, ignor- 
ant as I was of what was requisite for such a step. At 
these meetings, although not personally addressed, I was 
an attentive listener to all that was said. Here for the 
first time I learned where I was, and what had so long 
kept me in the dark. His close conversation and re- 
marks to inquirers led me to conclude, that I had been 
wholly selfish in my prayers and desires to be a christian. 
Fears of the ** wrath to come," had urged me on, in all 
myseeking. The desire to be holy, and the desire mere- 
ly to be saved, were seen to be very different things, as ex- 
plained to us by our pastor. From that time, I ceased 
to expect anything from my prayers and strivings. I was 
completely cut off from all hope, arising from any future 
doings of my own, and nothing now remained in myself, 



EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 335 

to build upon. I felt I was at the mercy of a Fovereign 
God, who could shew mercy for Christ's sake. 

It was always Dr. P.'s aim in all his treatment of in- 
quirers, to destroy their self-righteous hopes, to cut them 
off completely from all their own doings, and direct ihem 
to Jesus Christ, the only hope for the sinner. This view 
of things was new to me, and but for his close searching 
remarks and preaching, I might have been in the dark to 
this day. I can never forget how every word he spake, 
came home to me, (though not intended for me ;) how it 
seemed to meet my case, both when sifting the hopes of 
the mere professor, or leading the anxious soul to the only 
door of hope. How could we but value and love such a 
man, so ready to remove any difficulty which we ever 
after might meet with ! Whatever were our troubles, he 
understood us : we always repaired to him in our perplex- 
ities, and we never met a cold reception, but often left him 
with light hearts, or much encouraged to press on in the 
narrow path. His own deep experience pre-eminently 
qualified him to lead us out into the light. An invitation 
to meet our Pastor at a friend's house, was received by us 
with as much delight, as ever the gay votary of worldly 
pleasure anticipated, in mingling with the fashionable cir- 
cle : we wxre not disappointed in our expectations. His 
time was too precious, and we had no desire for trifling 
conversation. Experimental, spiritual religion was dis- 
cussed. We hung upon his lips, and drank in every 
word. O, such precious seasons ! 

Most of our little circle, with whom we then mingled, 
have gone to the spirit world, there to unite with him in 
more delightful companionship ; but some few remain who 
can never forget those scenes of deep and thrilling inter- 



336 RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 

est. Surely it was not his fault that we were not better 
christians. Every thing was done on his part to instruct 
us : a high standard of piety he set up; but still he would 
never discourage any one who he thought was aiming to 
do right. Like his blessed Lord and Master, he would 
never *' break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking 
flax." Truly he excelled, in this respect, most others. 
How frequently soever we might intrude upon his time or 
patience, he never seemed weary, or sent us away coldly ; 
but always aimed to he'p and comfort us. 

The following is saved from a letter, Dr. P. wrote to 
the compiler, by way of apology for not attending his 
ordination at Boothbay, June lOth, 1817. 

It evinces his anxiety to be present on the occasion, 
and his spirit of perseverance in accomplishing his object, 
although in this case unsuccessful. Speaking of the dis- 
appointment it had occasioned us, he says : *'It will not, 
I am confident, give you half the pain it has given me. 
But it did not appear to be the will of Providence, that I 
should be present. We had prepared every thing for 
setting out on Monday morning, but the violence of the 
storm, and the unusually feeble state of my health, rend- 
ered it impossible. Presuming it would be fair on Tues- 
day, we concluded to set out in the morning, and reach 
B. (about fifty-five miles) at farthest, time enough to at- 
tend the public services. Tuesday morning, it still rain- 
ed violently, but as there were some appearances of fair 
weather, we set out. We soon discovered,^however, that 
our horse was lame, and his lameness increased so fast 
that we were obliged to return. 
, But as there was still some prospect of getting there in 



EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 337 

reason, W6 thought of going by water. But after visiting 
every wharf in tov/n, we found nothing could be procured 
but an open boat; and we were told by Cap.. B.(a mem- 
ber of his churchj) it would not be safe to venture in it. 

We offered one man twenty dollars to carry us down 
in a little sloop, but he was otherwise engaged; so at last 
we were obliged to give it up. It is do^^'nless all for the 
best, though we cannot see how. 

I will mention the text I intended to r reach from, as it 
may suggest to you some profitable i .lections. '*And 
the c isciples returned to Jesus, and tolc" him all things, 
both what they had done and what they had taught." 

If you are enabled to tell Him, every night what you, 

We regret the loss of the concluding pt rt of his inter- 
esting remark. But we see the **ruling p ssion strong," 
in life, as in death. At that time, ordinatio!' 3 w^ere of more 
rare occurrence than now, and as the candidate for ordi- 
nation was one of his own flock ; and there having been 
also a recent extensive revival of religion in the place, we 
can understand his desire to fulfil the appointment and to 
gratify our wishes, and the reason of his taking so much 
pains to be present.* 

*Rev. J. W. Ellingwood, of Bath, being present on the occa- 
sion, preached in Dr, Fayson's stead. 

15 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

Concluding Reflections upon ^his general character — His dying 
hours — Remarks on the intimate connection between the liie 
and the death of individuals — Dying in character — The dying 
hour the index of the life — An affectionate and respectful con- 
sideration of the question, " What effect ought the twenty years 
of such faithful preaching as Dr. Payson's to have had upon his 
hearers ?" — Dr. Pay son's remarkably triumphant death only 
what was to have been anticipated — Some remarks of the bi- 
ographer of Rev. Mr. Cecil touching this subject — Lines writ- 
ten at the tomb of Payson, by Wm. B. Tappan. 

J. CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 

We find ourselves leaving that part of Dr. Payson'3 
history to which we had intended, principally, to confine 
our reminiscences. Some concluding reflections, howev- 
er, may be very properly introduced, suggested by his 
particular case, in evidence of the intimate connection 
which God has established between the closing period of 
one's life, and that life itself. 

That Dr. Payson's piety was of no common character, 
but of an elevated and peculiar stamp, is seen in every 
page of his Biography. It falls not within the scope of 
the compiler's plan to repeat the *'dying thoughts" which 
the author of the ** Memoir," has so largely supplied for 
the edification of millions. We would merely allude to 
them, as corroborating the general truth already sug- 
gested 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 339 

We are instructed to ** mark the perfect man, and to 
behold the upright, for the end of that man is peaee ;" — 
and usually it is a peace and joy, adjusted to the tenor of 
his life. 

Who was not prepared to expect that a life of untiring 
zeal and self-denial, like that of Payson's, would close just 
as it did. Is not such an issue agreeable to God's ap- 
pointment, and to all analogy in things natural and spirit- 
ual ? Is it not written, '* whatsoever a man soweth, that 
shall he also reap ?'' Was it not thus with the martyrs, 
and with our missionaries on heathen ground ? A life, 
eminently devoted to Christ and his cause, comes not to a 
doubtful or inglorious end. '* Them that honor me, I 
will honor." When the heginning is Christ, the end is 
Christ. Faith and holiness shall receive their everlast- 
ing reward. ** The water that I shall give him," said 
Christ, '* shall he in him, a well of water, springing up 
unto everlasting life." 

Yet a hope and a triumph like that of Paul's, or Ste 
phen's or Payson's, cannot be expected by the spiritual 
dwarf or drone. Just a ** name lo live," entitles to no 
martyr's dying triumph. To be saved even " so as hy 
fire,''* is a mercy indeed, yet we ought to desire and ex- 
pect more. The << abundant entrance,'' the triumph of 
holy faith ; although not always bestowed upon the dying 
believer in the same degree, in all cases, yet it usually 
follows the faithful life. 

Few are called to pass through such scenes of dark- 
ness as did Payson. His course, from the beginning, was 
peculiar. The type it originally assumed, only became 
deeper and stronger as his religious history unfolds. 



340 RECOLLECTIONS OE PAYSON. 

There was less of conflict towards its closing period, yet 
he became stronger in his exultation of victory. 

When we say that his religion was of a noble and 
lofty character, it is not to be understood that it partook 
of that spirit which says, " stand by thyself, I am holier 
than thou." Eather was it in perfect contrast to such 
emotions of pride and self-righteousness. 

There was no common-place about his religion — noth- 
ing superficial ; it was all of a piece, and all a deep real- 
ization. Every other object was eclipsed by having this 
one grand object prominently fixed in his eye. In execut- 
ing his great commission on earth, nothing efl^ectually 
obstructed his course. ** His work was before him." In 
this world, more an exile than at home, he passed on to 
the upper kingdom of his Father. 

He turned not aside, though his path was be et with 
lions; nor for the mountain barrier, for he excavated its 
sides, or scaled its summit. The dark ravine intimidated 
him not, for faith bridged its frightful chasm. Jehovah's 
''pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night," 
were his guide. *' One star alone, the star of Bethle- 
hem," had fixed his eye. His grand end and aim, the 
glory of G d, and held in indissoluble connectiop with his 
own everlasting interests. 

His experience, as is evident, partook more of the tern- 
pest than the calm. It was high winds, either ahead or 
fair. Although it was an experience of dreadful conflict 
with spiritual foes, yet it told of rich spoils, gathered up* 
on the battle-field, from which he carried his scars ; and 
they, even, afforded him joy during those in'^rvals of 
rest, (as to the weary soldier,) when he might contem- 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 341 

plate the power and- grace of the great Captain of his 
salvation, which had sustained him in the conflict, and 
encoiirac 3d him to press on with vigor, to the end of his 
course ; the whole affording an example of suffering and 
triumph for the instruction of coming generations. 

" True to its destined port, through storm and shine, 
Though sails be rent, and waves in fury rise, 
Its beacon hght, a burning hope divine, 
Forever bright, though tempests svi^eep the skies.'"' 

And are we to expect that a passage so strongly char- 
acterized as his, would have only an ordinary termina- 
tion ? \7e might be sure that a '* sea of glory," \vould 
be sprei; J out before such a dying christian ; that the 
** land of Beulah" would appear in distinct" and joyful 
vision. As much of heaven was let into his soul at the 
finishing of his course, as mortality could endure. Then 
was the winding up of the drama of life ; a life of extra- 
ordinary piety and suffering. Let us ** mark the perfect 
man," i'c: God had marked him — in W'^^ for the arrow, 
in death for the triumph — in glory for the crown. 

How v;onderfully does God make it appear that when 
such a man as Payson comes to die, he shall not have to 
'*kan upon a broken reed, or a spear." 

Says an eminently godly minister, **If fools \vill come 
and ask us what there is in the spirit of religion, we 
should :;how, that if it can do nothing else, it can bear 
up the ' ying sinner ; that he has got hold of something 
abiding and substantial, when everything else flees from 
him." 

We would offer, in this connection, a few examples, by 
way of illustrating the truth, not only that the *' ruling 



342 RECOLLECTIONS' OF PAYSON. 

passion is strong in death," but to show how unenviable 
is such a development of character as is witnessed in 
nmost of the great and renowned among men in their iy* 
ing moments. Men die in character — they would die so. 
In one class, however, we see, the dying hour savors of 
earth, in the other, of heaven. The history of men's 
lives usually retains its coloring to its extremest verge, 
and is often seen with more distinctness at its closing pe- 
riod. Those who have been chiefly eminent for worldly 
wisdom, as wett as those who have been distinguished for 
their piety, have generally exhibited their true character 
in the honest hour of death. Death sets the seal, and 
stamps the character ; and the impression is but the com- 
plexion of the life deepened and fixed. 

In adverting to examples of illustrious men, whether of 
ancient or modern times, in the remarks which follow, 
we mean nothing insidious or disrespectful to their mem- 
ory. We only state facts, and use them for the purpose 
of illustration. 

A religion, a little removed from ordinary morality, yet 
recognizing the truth of Christianity .was seen in Addison. 
He sent to his young infidel friend, saying, ** Come see 
how a Christian can die." His life, supremely devoted 
to literature, moral essays- and politics, the stream only 
maintained its level at death : the end was of no higher 
elevation than its commencement, or during its general 
course. There could be but a doubtful evidence, certain- 
ly, that his hope was of a genuine, evangelical stamp; 
useful as his writings are, and amiable as his life ap- 
peared. 

We are not eager, if we were competent, to pronounce 



RECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 343 

upon the christian character of Dr. Samuel Johnson, 
whose literary labors have done honor to his name and to 
his race. We would not detract an iota from the 
acknowledged fame of this giant in philology and morals, 
yet it is but too evident that the special interests of the 
soul and of eternity were obscured and too often forgot- 
ten amid his close and unremitting literary labors. And 
as death is the hour that reveals the secrets of the heart 
and life, we see the fact exemplified in the trying scene 
of his last moments. 

Whatever might have been his religious creed, or his 
outward observance of it, in his dying moments, there 
was something essential to his peace, that he had too much 
overlooked, and which he could not find in the book of 
human knowledge, nor in the great volume of his own 
heart and life — a spiritual view of the Savior. We are 
informed that in his last sickness, he sent to a humble 
minister of Jesus, who lived at a distance, to come and 
see him, aud explain to him ** the way of life and salva- 
tion more perfectly,'* than he yet had knowledge of. 

He was afraid to die ; to die with all this uncertainty 
that now shrouded his path to immortality. 

The man of God did not come, although the request 
was. repeated ; yet he sent a message to the great, the dy- 
ing man, containing scriptural and evangelical directions, 
s-ufficiently definite to teach him the manner in which a 
sinner ** can be just with God.'* 

The directions having been communicated to him, the 
great English moralist inquired, "Did he[say so ? did he say 
sof ' apparently just waking up to the truth and solemn- 
ity of these grand and peculiar doctrines of the Gospel ; 



344 RCOLLEc^o^^s of paisozt. 

as if he he i all his lifetime, been ignorant of a heart-af- 
fecting sense of the need of Christ as a Savior. That he 
possessed a speculative knowledge of these truths is evi- 
dent from hii biography. What the result of his quick- 
ened sensibilities vras, at that late hour, we are not able 
to say, but it is sufficient to our purpose, to state that his 
dying circumstances accorded with the general tenor of 
his life. Eteiriity was flashing into his soul most unwel- 
come forebodings, and whatever the final result, doubtless 
be came down to the very verge of the grave, *' encom- 
passed with sparks of his own kindling," dressed and 
laurelled for immortality, and with the same drapery of 
honors, as he had folded so fondly around him in the 
days of his prosperity and his fame. In his 75th 
year, the last of his life, the " ruling passion" was as 
strong as ever. The highest literary honors which he en- 
joyed, were insufficient to afford consolation to a soul 
departing, and soon to be called to give account of his 
stewardship. " Verily, such have their'reward," He 
wiuld die in character^ as a great man, though stripped 
of all by the hand of unrelenting death. 

However renowned the man, or however arrayed in 
moral sublimity, the closing scene of the great British 
Admiral, as he lay expiring in the arms of his officers, at 
the closing period of a most splendid victory, yet the dy- 
ing words of I'^elson, '* England expects every man to do 
his duty," sho ved where the heart of Nelson was. Words 
of f'evoted pauiotism, and worthy to be set in gold upon 
the breastplate of every loyal Briton. Yet we see only 
the ruling passion, in full and perfect development. He 
had no time or disposition in that fearful moment, to pre- 



EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 345 

pare for a conflict with a mightier and niore deadly foe, 
or so alive was he to his country's expectations, and the 
duties of his brave men, as to be indifferent to the ques- 
tion, to him, immensely more important. If England^s 
king expects every man to do his duty, what duty does 
God expect of me ? and is this dying scene to close with 
that great duty unperformed ^ 

He finished his illustrious career, in exact accordance 
with his wishes ; the peal of cannon his summons to the 
high tribunal ; and the joy of expected victory the con- 
solation cf his death hour. He died in character. 

Had the conscience of John Randoph been sleeping on 
"rose and myrtle," for three-score years, even until the 
signal of death speaks in his vi^akened ear ? Had the re- 
alities of a retributive eternity been hidden from his 
eyes, till compelled to exclaim, '^jRemorse," what is the 
signification of Remorse ? bring me the dictionary." We 
say not of him, that it was not an awakening, though 
late, yet favorable to after thoughts of penitence, of pray- 
er, and of hope ; but are not such closing scenes, and 
those of multitudes, only a faithful mirror of the past, 
whiah are often seen reflected upon many a last leaf of 
man's doubtful, and painful history ! 

Nor are there wanting instances of individuals, who, 
during their lingering sickness, have earnestly expressed 
their desire to die in character with their profession, and 
who appeared unsubmissive to the manner in which "the 
grand enemy was approaching them. Wasting away un- 
der the ravages of consumption, he inquires, " why could 
I not die in my country's service, and fall a martyr in its 

cause, instead of dying thus ingloriously." We allude to 
15^ 



346 RECOLLECTIONS OF PATSON* 

one who stood among the brightest in the annals of 
American history. ** They say they are gods, but they 
shall die like men." 

The love of human glory dominant in man's depraved 
heart, both in early and mature life, and which fashions all 
the grand outlines, and governs the movements of his 
history, loses not its peculiar complexion, to the last, as he 
lives, so generally he dies. The world his idol, he hugs 
to his dying bosom. His bags of gold, and his deeds and 
bonds, he would have spread out before him, as he rests 
his head upon his dying pillow, that he may take one 
more look, at what is perhaps, his only treasure. The 
sordid avaricious man dies in character. 

The requiem over the brave soldier is sung in martial 
melody, and they wrap his honored corse in the nation's 
flag, to which he has died a martyr. They lay him in 
his grave, *' alone in his glory," while, often his expecta- 
tions of the future, were scarcely more than the poetry of 
hope; all partaking only of the grand illusion of a mili- 
tary pageant. But still, it is all in character ! 

Such was not that ^* sea of glory," that was spread 
out before the dying Payson, or the consistent, dying 
christian, wherever found. Jesus only can make soft the 
dying bed. Such sing their own requiem, as earth is 
vanishing, and Heaven opens, in the language of the 
immortal poet; 

" Jesus, the vision of thy face 

Hath overpowering charms, 
Scarce shall I feel death's cold embrace 

If Christ be in my arms. 



EBCOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 347 

**Then while you hear my heart strings break, 

How sweet my minutes roll ; 
A mortal paleness on my cheek, 

And glory in my soul." 

The dying hour in most cases, is seen to be the index 
of the past life. How painfully true it tells the story of 
man's delinquency. Its finger points upbraidingly to the 
retrospect, and portentously to the future ; while on the 
vision of the saint, is seen the angel of the covenant, beck- 
oning to brighter vi;rorlds. 

Although it is said that dying grace shall be afforded 
for a dying hour, which is doubtless in a measure true, 
yet christians even, depart with a greater or less degree of 
triumph, as their lives have been consistent, or otherwise i 
and of most believers, in a qualified sense it may be said, 
" O that thou hadst hearkened unto my commandments, 
then had thy peace been like a river, and thy righteousness 
as the waves of the sea.'' The character of the life will 
impart a color and complexion to the closing scene. 

The duelist, the philosopher, the infidel, would all die 
in character. So would the christian hero. So die the 
former ; so dies the latter ; at his side the great captain 
of his salvation, " Death of deathf and hell's destruc- 
tion." A sinner by nature, ruined by transgression, sav- 
ed by grace ; this, his humble boast in life ; at death the 
same. He dies in character. 

Nor should such eminent examples in the christian 
ministry, as Dr. Payson affords, be overlooked or forgot- 
ten. What would this dark world have been without 
those burning and shining lights, as Luther, and Calvin, 
and Knox? The world does not forget them; their 



348 RECOLLECTIONS OF PATSON. 

memory is s--ill precious, although they have long since 
passed away. Whitefield was the theme of remark 
among all ckisses, in bis day ; nor is he yet forgotten ; 
probably never will be while the world stands. The 
name, as wel: as "the good of such men, lives after 
them/' 

It would hiive been an anomaly indeed, in the moral 
world, if Dr. Payson had not died in the triumphant 
manner he did. We looked that his last hours would be 
peace — and more. How honorable to the grace and 
promise of God ; how blessed for him, aud for us, and 
for religion, and for the world, that such hours they were. 
The following remarks of Mr. Cecil's biographer, so 
relevant to our present subject, and which so graphically 
present the dying scene of one who resembled Dr. Pa}-- 
son in many respects, we take the liberty to insert. ^' The 
energy, decision, and grandeur of his natural powers, 
gradually gave v»^ay, and a morbid feebleness succeeded ; 
yet in this afflicted state of his body, on one side almost 
lifelesS; his organ of speech impaired, and his j'jdgment 
weakened, the spiritual dispositions of his heart, display' 
ed tjiemsehes in a most remarkalle manner. He appear- 
ed great in the ruins of nature, and his eminently religi- 
ous character manifested itself, to the honor of divine 
grace, in a manner that surprised all. If his habits had 
been ambitious, or sensual, or covetous^ or worldly y these 
tendencies, if any^ would have displayed themselves ; but 
as his soul had long been established in grace, and spirit' 
ual religion had been incorporated with all his trains of 
sentimmt and affection^ and had become like a second na- 
ture, the holy dispositions of his heart acted with remark- 
able constancy y through all the variatioiis of his illness. 



BECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 349 

Throughout his illness, his whole mind, instead of be- 
ing fixed on some mean and insignificant concern, v/as 
riveted on spiritual objects. Every other topic was so 
tin interesting to him, and even burdensome, that he 
could with reluctance allow it to be introduced. His view 
of his own misery and helplessness as a sinner, and the 
necessity of being entirely dependent on divine grace, 
and being saved as the greatest monument of its efficacy, 
was continually on the increase. As he drew near his 
end, his one topic was Jesus Christ. Just before his dis- 
solution, he said to a friend, ** I know myself to be a 
wretched, worthless sinner, (the seriousness and feeling 
with which he spoke I shall never forget,) having nothing 
in myself but poverty and sin. I know Jesus Christ to 
be an almighty, and glorious Savior, I see the full effi- 
cacy of his atonement and grace, and I cast myself entire- 
ly on them, and wait at Win footstool/' 

How profitable to" contemplate the lives and deaths of 
such men as Cecil and Payson ; that amidst the corrup- 
tion and apostacy with which the world abounds, they 
exemplified in their lives, a genuine religion ; and who 
have gone up to shine as the stars in the upper firma- 
ment. And comes there not a voice from that world of 
light, saying, ** Whose faith follow ; " catch their falling 
mantles, ye sons of the priesthood ; and who cannot but 
pray, that for every ascending Elijah, succeeding proph- 
ets may be found, well furnished to lead the '' sacramen- 
tal host of God's elect." 

In closing our reflections, it would be a very natural, 
and we are sure a very affectionate and respectful inquiry 
to make, ** What effect ought twenty, years of Payson's 



350 RECOLLECTIONS OP PATSON. 

faithful labors to have had upon a people who enjoyed so 
great a privilege. We are sure it was no ordinary privi* 
lege. So acknowledged by themselves, perhaps with sat- 
isfaction and complacency, while he ministered to them, 
and with similar feelings it may be now, while in mem- 
ory they revert to the days of his ministry. 

We might hope that the truth of God's word, gather- 
ed therefrom with no unskillful hand, &nd poured forth in 
burning eloquence, for more than a thousand sabbaths, 
with concentrated power, could not fail to reach the con- 
science, and melt the heart of stone. Accompanied by 
the Eternal Spirit, it did : in how many instances it did ; 
yet alas! in how many instances it did not. The image, 
the voice, the affectionate appeals of their Pastor, they 
have not forgotten. Will they ever ? and we will indulge 
such a hope while calling to mind the instance of the hun- 
dred-year-old sinner, before alluded to, whose mind had 
retained, as in fallow ground, the precious seed during 
nearly a century of God's patience, which "after so long 
a time** became fruitful and bore the fruits of repentance. 
Such a miracle of grace is registered, to prevent entire 
despair ; yet recorded, alas, are many examples of grace 
abused, till the mercy-time of God has passed away . 
forever. 

Dr. Payson came to his grave at the comparatively 
early age of forty-five years. His life, during his minis- 
try ,as is well known, was one of protracted disease, and 
often of acute bodily suffering ; in the latter part of it, 
especially, his disease seldom intermitted, but increased 
in violence till it terminated in death. From his own des- 
cription of his physical sufferings during his last days, they 



EECOLLECTIONS OF PAYSON. 361 

must have been intense, surpassing conception. Yet, by 
an almost supernatural strength, derived from an exalted 
faith in his Savior, with its accompanying supports and 
consolations, and joyous anticipations, he was lifted above 
his disease, and was enabled to converse to the admira- 
tion and profit of those who. attended at his bed-side, 
with a solemnity and vigor and energy that seemed to be 
borrowed from a view of eternal objects, seen face to 
face. 

We deem it unnecessary to extend our remarks upon 
the interesting and affecting scenes of his last sickness, 
and death ; a full account of them having been already 
published in the '^ Memoir" by Dr. Cummings, and sub- 
sequently by the Am. Tract Society, in a condensed 
form. The more those dying sayings of Payson are read, 
the more impressive do they appear, and the stronger is the 
conviction that in death, at least, no one has ever 
preached like him ; with equal power, pathos and effect. 
We deem it an honor and a privilege to point our readers 
anew. to that monument in memory of Payson which his 
Biographer has reared. His Savior's example how faith- 
fully he copied. How fair the page which contains his 
life's history. How he himself, read that page, we well 
know ; but as far as man's vision can discern, we see the 
fair transcript only to admire. Suffering, dying, trium- 
phant Pastor I how safe, now where 
«« Sin casts no shadow, 
Sorrow hath no name." 



APPENDIX 



la the war of the Revolution, a large part of Portland 
(then Falmouth) was reduced to ashes by the perfidious 
Mo watt, from on board a British vessel of war, lying off 
the harbor. Great Britain and the United States now 
sustain very different relations towards each other. Port- 
land, some old inhabitant that walks its streets, and who 
witnessed its smouldering ruins, will tell you, very signifi- 
cantly, has under gone a mighty change since that time. 
She now assumes the appearance of one of the most 
beautiful cities of our land. 

The two great nations have been drawn up in battle 
array, once, since that tug of the revolution ; for the last 
time, we predict. That we prove to be a true prophet^ 
pray ye all. 

From the heights of Portland may there never again 
be viewed the unnatural struggle of mother and daugh- 
ter. May no deadly conflict of these nations again en- 
crimson the ocean which rolls between them. 

The daughter now matronly and dignified, may sit 
down together with the mother in happy companionship, 
and forget their old family contentions, never to be re- 
peated. 

Modern inventions and commercial enterprise have 
united the interests of the two nations in strong bonds ; 



354 ^' APPEXDIX. 

and such reciprocities have been established as shall, 
we trust, never be compromitted. 

But for Portland in 1855, what shall we say ? "Beautiful 
for situation," with a population of twenty-five thousand, 
with its forest-shaded streets for ornament and comfort ; 
its princely dwellings and its "merchant princes;" its 
vast commercial advantages ; its railroad termini, soon 
to become an important depot for our own and foreign 
nations ; above all, a city abounding in temples of the 
Most High, and facilities for the liberal education of the 
young. 

Already has the prophecy, long since made, of its 
destined prosperity, been fulfilled in part. The present 
auspicious era of her history, foretels for the no distant 
future, a full accomplishment of the prophetic vision. 

The tramp and the snorting of the iron steed are re- 
vealing the story, as they are heard through the length 
and breadth of our State, as they send forward the pond- 
erous cars, freighted with the commodities of all nations, 
and alive whh merchandize more precious than gold. 

But we are away from our subject. We would speak 
of Portland principally, because of intersting relations 
to the scenes and subjects recorded in the present work. 

Here transpired the principal acts, in the grand drama 
of Payson's life. He walked those streets. He mould- 
ed and infiuenced the morals of the people. Many of 
their sons and daughters he baptised in their youth. His 
fervent prayers were here offered in their behalf, the 
blessings of which they may now be reaping. For 
twenty years he proclaimed God's truth, with the Holy 
Ghost sent down from Heaven, until at length, exhaust- 
ed under the weight of his labors, he sank into the arms 
of death. His ashes are deposited among their family 



APPENDIX. ^ 355 

graves. His memory is yet fragrant as the spicy breeze, 
is at once "pleasant and mournful to the soul." 

To the stranger, the pious stranger at least, these as- 
sociations of which we speak, will be among the strongest 
attractions of his visit to this place. He inquires of you 
for the house where Payson met his flock on the Sab- 
bath ; for the favored room where Pastor and people held 
those precious seasons for fasting, conference and prayer ; 
for the last dwelling he occupied while on earth and 
from which his remains were carried to his last resting 
place ; for the monument which marks the place of his 
burial, and for the remnant of his flock, that they may 
learn from them more of the man, whose piety and zeal 
and talents have shone forth with a world-wide celebrity, 
and which have stamped upon the place of his sepulture 
the seal of immortality. 

Where sleeps, (the far-off stranger asks,) your Pastor's mold'ring 

clay ? 
Bends o'er his urn, the stranger-friend; and breathes the plaintive 

lay. 
Point us the pathway to the church, his foot-steps ofl have trod, 
Let us behold where gathered hearts bowed to that man of God ; 
Tell us the secret of that pow'r when souls were captive led ; 
Say what the thunder of that hour, when prostrate sinners bled, 
And when upon the altar plac'd, the incense and the pray'r 
Was it some saint, or angel form, that wak'd devotion there ? 

How are our emotions enkindled afresh, when viewing 
some particular object that reminds us of a departed 
friend ; his portrait ; a keepsake ; a memento ; and the 
room which that friend once occupied ; if a minister, the 
pulpit in which he once stood. Standing at Payson's 
tomb^ a thousand tender recollections arise. There is 
another spot of sacred associations. We refer to the house 



356 APPENDIX. 

in which he dwelt soon after he commenced his labors in 
Portland. There is the chamber. We recently visited 
it. It was to us an interesting spot. One could not look 
into it but with emotions of thrilling interest. There 
Payson agonized in prayer for himself and people. 
There he composed those sermons which wrought like 
magic upon his congregation. That room is now just as 
Payson left it, forty years ago. There, on Wilmot street, 
stands the house ; unscathed by lightning ; untouched by 
the incendiary ; not metamorphosed by the cunning hand 
of modern architecture. Owned and occupied still, 
by the same man ; the venerable merchant, now " full 
eighty and stirring," and his amiable consort and family, 
who took the stranger in, pleased to minister to the wants 
of the man of God, and who received in return the priv- 
ilege of bowing with him in prayers r.round the family al- 
tar. It is the prophet's chamber ; and while entering it 
you seem to meet his image, and almost to hear him 
speak. You turn away, lost in solemn reverie. The echo 
of his words, aud the recollections of departed years and 
scenes, in melancholy, yet precious remembrance, come 
with a strong rush across your musing and meditative 
spirit. But you awake in a moment to more substantial 
realities — his eminent services in the cause of Christ ; 
his triumphant death, and the better house he now occu- 
pies, " not built with hands, eternal in the heavens." 



When Drs.Reed and Matheson, the delegation from the 
Conorregational chnrches of England and Wales, visited 
the United States, some fifteen years since, although the 
New World abounded with objects, both natural and mor- 
al, more attractive to our transatlantic brethren, we doubt 
whether they approached or viewed any spot with a 



APPENDIX. 357 

deeper interest than the scene of Payson's labors and 
triumphs. 

At their home firesides, they had read of the man and 
learned much of his character ; they would now realize 
as much as possible from actual observation and inquiry, 
while standing upon the ground where he had stood, 
some of those scenes and events which the pen of the 
biographer had recorded. 

They repair to the residence of his bereaved and be- 
loved family, to mingle their prayers and their sympa- 
thies with them. They approach with sacred emotions, 
the edifice where the voice of the man of God had 
sounded in thrilling eloquence for twenty years. They 
ascend its pulpit ; they stand up and survey its walls and 
essay to catch the inspiration of his devotions, once kin- 
dled upon that very altar ; that in imagination, at least, 
they might hear those tones which once fell from his lips. 



At a meeting of the Am. Board in Portland, in 1851, 
which drew together such an immense concourse of 
strangers, what spot was so attractive to many present, 
as the tomb of Payson ? 

A clergyman who came from a considerable distance 
to attend the meeting, remarked that one great object he 
had in view in being present, was, that he might behold 
the place of Payson's life and labors. 



When the edifico of the second parish in Portland, 
( late Dr. Payson's,) underwent the last remodelling in 
1843, it was judged expedient by the Committee to re- 
move the pulpit in order to substitute one of a more mod- 
ern style. 

We are not to suppose that this movement, although 



358 APPENDIX. 

suggested and approved by Dr. Payson's personal 
friends, implied any want of respect or affection on their 
part, towards their beloved pastor, yet doubtless with some 
misgivings, they bore from its ancient place the sacred 
relic. They conveyed it to the vestry of the church, 
there to remain, we think, for many years, kindred in 
sacredness to the " ark of the ancient covenant, that con- 
tained Aaron's rod that budded, and the pot of manna," 
not only as an object of curiosity and attraction to 
strangers, but to stand as a pastor's memorial to his sur- 
viving friends, and their descendants to many genera- 
tions. 



It was a natural and very commendable expression 
of genuine affection in Dr. Judson's friends, who accom- 
panied him to the ship in which he was about to embark 
for the Isle of Bourbon, for the restoration of his health, 
when they found that his disease had made such an ad- 
vance that he would probably die on ship-board, and be 
buried in the ocean, they entreated that he might be 
taken back to Maulmain, saying, '' we want his grave 
where we can look upon it." 

Not only would thousands in Burmah.have accounted 
this a precious privilege, but christian pilgrims from ev- 
ery land wonld have sought for his sepulchre, that they 
might do honor to the memory of one so deservedly es- 
teemed. But this privilege God did not grant them. 
With other beloved missionaries of the cross,* he found 

*Rev. Mr. Wheelock, Baptist missionary to Burmah, who was 
drowned on his outward passage. 

Rev. Robert VVyman, of Cumberland, Me., of the Ceylon Mis- 
sion, who was returning on account of his health, aud died on the 
passage, three weeks out from Madras. 



APPENDIX. 369 

his grave far down the dark and fathomless sea, where 
no eye save that of the Omniscient can penetrate. 

It is for the consolation of Dr. Payson's friends, now 
living, and of unborn generations, perhaps, that the place 
of his burial may be looked upon ; that it may be said of 
him as of the patriarch David, '' his sepulchre is with us 
to this day." 



THE GRAVEOF PAYSON. 

BY W. E. TAPPAN» 

" I stood in silence and alone, 

Just at the Sabbath dawn of day. 
Where quietly the modest stone. 

Told me that Payson's relics lay. 
No gorgeous tale, nor herald's arms, 
Astonished with their splendid lie *, 
Or hireling praise ; — in truth's meek charms. 
It said : 'His record is on high.' 

I gazed around the burial spot. 

That looks on Portland's spires below ; 
And on her thousands, who are not, 

Did sad, yet useful thought bestow. 
Here sleep they, till the trumpet's tongue, 

Shall peal along a blazing sky ; — 
Yet who of these— the old and young. 

May read his record ihe7i on high ? 

And near, I saw the early grave 

Of him who fought at Tripoli ; 
Who would not live the Moslem's slave; 

Who fell, a martyr with the free. 
And wrapt in Freedom's starry flag, 

The ehief who dared to " do or die }" 
And England's son, who could not lag. 

Whose deeds his country wrote on high.* 

**AlluBion is probably here made by the poet to the graves of Com 



360 APPENDIX. 

1 turned again to Payson's clay, 

And recollected well how bright 
The radiance ; far outshining day, 

That rob'd his soaring soul yht. 
What music stole awhile from heaven. 

To charm away his parting sigh ; 
What wings to waft him home were given, 

Whose holy " record was on high." 

And give me — trembling said I then. 

Some place, my Savior, where such dwell ; 

And far above the pride of man, 
And pomp of which the worldly tell, 

Will be my lot. Come haughty kings ! 
And ye who pass in glitter by. 

And feel that ye are abject things, 

Whose record is not found on high ' '* 

modore Edward Preble of Portland, and to Captains Blythe and 
Burroughs, (of the brigs Enterprise and Boxer,) both of whom fell 
in the engagement off Portland, in the War of 1812. A reference 
to the funeral of the two commanders may be found in the former 
part of this work. 



THE END. 



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